Blackstone Mortgage Trust's (BXMT) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $19.50 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their prior target price of $19.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.73. The stock had a trading volume of 983,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,253. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.01 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.94. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $16.51 and a one year high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.04%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is currently -408.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the firm'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 acquisition, the director now owns 182,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,457,679.40. This represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True North Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 24,509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.