Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 2,685 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,685 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned 0.09% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at about $83,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $19.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE 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 price of $18.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.36.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued 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 yield of 9.48%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6,266.67%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,900,558.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan purchased 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,153.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares worth $27,899. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.