Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 56,526 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.8%, acquiring an additional 56,526 shares, bringing their total holdings to over 1 million shares valued at approximately $20.66 million.
• In recent insider trading, both the CFO and CEO sold shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with the CFO selling 1,517 shares and the CEO selling 6,931 shares, marking a decrease in their respective ownership percentages.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, representing a 9.4% yield, though its dividend payout ratio is exceptionally high at -2,685.71%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,033,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 56,526 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.60% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $20,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 187.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $29,126.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 64,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,374.40. This represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 236,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,164.82. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,069 shares of company stock valued at $231,343 in the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $19.91 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.34 and a 200-day moving average of $19.34. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -284.36 and a beta of 1.16.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.4%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -2,685.71%.

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.

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