Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning cut its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 17.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,671 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BXMT. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan acquired 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,414,153.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan bought 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,960 shares in the company, valued at $3,414,153.60. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson bought 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $17.71 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.53 and a 12-month high of $23.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -19.68 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.22.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.62%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -208.89%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Profile

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.