Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 696.6%, acquiring an additional 737,778 shares to own a total of 843,692 shares valued at approximately $16.87 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $20.00 for Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with two analysts rating it as a Buy and four issuing Hold ratings.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47, representing an annualized yield of 9.6%, despite having a significantly high dividend payout ratio of -2,685.71%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 696.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 843,692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 737,778 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.49% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $16,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 187.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 18,595.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.7%

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.55. 582,204 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,432,905. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.36. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -279.30 and a beta of 1.12.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,685.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $132,590.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 236,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,164.82. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total value of $29,126.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 64,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,230,374.40. The trade was a 2.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.02% 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.