Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 20,321 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.0%, now holding 318,668 shares worth approximately $6.37 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their positions in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, including the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which grew its holdings by 26.2% to own 544,125 shares valued at about $10.88 million.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, representing an annualized yield of 9.9%.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 318,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,321 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV owned approximately 0.19% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $6,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 24,509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.8% in the first quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 57,149 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.9% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 114,637 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,532,164.82. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $29,126.40. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,248 shares of company stock worth $177,028. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.2280 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.8880. 872,821 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,469,159. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.34. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -269.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,685.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BXMT. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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, UBS Group increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.