AXS Investments LLC Sells 15,321 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Key Points

• AXS Investments LLC has reduced its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 14.0%, owning 94,462 shares valued at $1,889,000 after selling 15,321 shares in the last quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Blackstone Inc. and Balyasny Asset Management, have increased their stakes in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 10.0%, despite a high payout ratio of -2,685.71%.

AXS Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,321 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter worth $499,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 69.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 105,985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 43,416 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 69.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth $561,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related 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 transaction of $132,590.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,164.82. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total value of $29,126.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,374.40. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,248 shares of company stock worth $177,028 over the last quarter. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 844,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,491,663. The business's fifty day moving average price is $19.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -269.86 and a beta of 1.12. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.51 and a one year high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is presently -2,685.71%.

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.