Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,563,556 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 1,425,470 shares.The stock last traded at $19.2240 and had previously closed at $19.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.28 and its 200-day moving average is $19.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 289.23%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 3,131 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.24, for a total transaction of $60,240.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 78,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,898.92. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.