Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,441 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BXMT shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,558.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,558.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 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.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT stock opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 613.00 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.33. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.53 and a 12 month high of $23.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.22%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,266.67%.

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.