HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 6,051 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,051 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $2,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 854,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,092,000 after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth $561,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 147,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 23,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth $819,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $29,126.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,374.40. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total transaction of $132,590.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,164.82. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,248 shares of company stock worth $177,028. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BXMT. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $19.5150 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -278.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.31 and its 200-day moving average is $19.35. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,685.71%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.