LPL Financial LLC Sells 4,796 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,796 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.13% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $4,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 187.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 18,595.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $29,126.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,374.40. This represents a 2.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total value of $132,590.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 236,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,164.82. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE BXMT opened at $19.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -276.43 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.30. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,685.71%.

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.