Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Overweight Rating

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $21.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE BXMT opened at $19.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.13. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is presently 289.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.