Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT Shares Purchased by Shikiar Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Shikiar Asset Management nearly doubled its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter, increasing holdings by 96.4% to 174,700 shares valued at about $3.35 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 64.15% of BXMT shares; several firms, including UBS AM and Invesco, also added to their positions.
• Analysts are mixed but mostly constructive: the stock currently carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $21 price target, though some firms recently trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 96.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 85,750 shares during the period. Blackstone Mortgage Trust accounts for approximately 1.0% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $3,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,405,000 after buying an additional 37,838 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,474,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,142,000 after buying an additional 138,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth about $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81 and a beta of 0.89. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.88 and a one year high of $20.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.08.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 308.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc NYSE: BXMT is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm's core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.

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