Mariner LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Mariner LLC lowered its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,482 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.16 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.51 and a twelve month high of $21.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.88.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -408.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BXMT shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.25.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.