Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Buys 1,255 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 39.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 854,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,092,000 after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,952,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,662,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,326,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.10.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 182,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,679.40. This represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total value of $29,126.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,374.40. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.65 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.25. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.51 and a 52-week high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of -40.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -408.70%.

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.