Cura Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 155,210 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Cura Wealth Advisors LLC cut its Blackstone Mortgage Trust stake by 82.8% in the first quarter, selling 155,210 shares and leaving it with 32,300 shares worth about $619,000.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 64.15% of BXMT shares. Recent activity included new positions and large stake increases from firms such as Norges Bank, Bamco, UBS Group, and Invesco.
• Analysts are mixed but mostly constructive: BXMT has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a $20.75 price target, even as some firms lowered targets or downgraded the stock. Shares were trading near $16.68, close to the 52-week low, while the quarterly dividend implies an 11.3% yield.

Cura Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 82.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 155,210 shares during the period. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,239,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,498.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,594,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,696,000 after buying an additional 1,494,830 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,082,005 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,740,000 after buying an additional 603,588 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,077,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,838,000 after buying an additional 446,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,733,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $16.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.78. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.62 and a one year high of $20.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.3%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is 308.20%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $28,506.90. Following the sale, the president owned 72,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,244,385.93. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Profile

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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