Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Price Target Cut to $17.50

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $18.50 to $17.50 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT traded up $0.32 on Thursday, hitting $17.97. The company had a trading volume of 138,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,047. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 588.33 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.60. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $16.83 and a 52-week high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.80%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8,266.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,565.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 over the last ninety days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.0% in the first quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 61,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $1,705,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 16.4% during the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.