Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5%, owning a total of approximately 1.51% of the company, worth around $51.98 million.
• Multiple institutional investors boosted their positions in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with holdings growing notably, including a 187.8% increase by GAMMA Investing LLC.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47, which yields 10.0%, while insiders sold 9,248 shares valued at $177,028 over the last 90 days.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,598,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 63,953 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.51% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $51,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,315,000 after buying an additional 801,083 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $149,752,000 after buying an additional 652,537 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 473.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 625,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,882,000 after buying an additional 516,023 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $8,118,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $4,862,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,532,164.82. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded down $0.2250 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.7550. The stock had a trading volume of 548,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,802. 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 $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -267.93 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.34.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -2,685.71%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.