Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 99.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,715,416 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blackstone Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 7,948,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $169,074,000 after acquiring an additional 686,881 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $38,747,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,169,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,875,000 after acquiring an additional 528,950 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 785,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,683,000 after acquiring an additional 140,102 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 364,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after acquiring an additional 26,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,900,558.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and have sold 1,495 shares worth $27,899. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $19.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 661.00 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $23.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.36.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.87 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.48%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio 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.