Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,253.5% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 330,257 shares valued at approximately $6.61 million.
• Analysts show a mixed sentiment towards Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with two Buy ratings and four Hold ratings, along with an average target price increased to $20.00.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust recently announced a $0.47 quarterly dividend, representing a 9.6% yield, despite a very high dividend payout ratio.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 1,253.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 305,857 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned about 0.19% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $6,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 801,083 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 696.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 843,692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $16,874,000 after purchasing an additional 737,778 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $149,752,000 after purchasing an additional 652,537 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 473.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 625,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,882,000 after purchasing an additional 516,023 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake 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.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total value of $44,563.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 234,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,516,030.75. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,230,374.40. The trade was a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,069 shares of company stock valued at $231,343 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.8%

BXMT traded up $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $19.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,921. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -282.56 and a beta of 1.16. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -2,685.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on BXMT shares. UBS Group boosted 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 note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.