Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $209,000 in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4,986.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $17.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 594.33 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.85 and a 1 year high of $23.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.37.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.91%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is presently 8,266.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,540 shares of company stock valued at $112,642. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.93.

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.