State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 32,588 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 22.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 32,588 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter worth about $83,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $19.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 661.00 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.37. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.53 and a fifty-two week high of $23.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 7.98% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The business had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6,266.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson bought 57,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 423,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,406,892.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson bought 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 423,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,406,892.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and have sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BXMT. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.08.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.