NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $4.35 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,847 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $4,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 7,948,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $169,074,000 after acquiring an additional 686,881 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,169,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,875,000 after purchasing an additional 528,950 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth $6,983,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth $4,790,000. Finally, Bracebridge Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth $4,141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BXMT. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.08.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $18.28 on Thursday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.53 and a 52 week high of $23.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.32 and its 200-day moving average is $18.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 609.33 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 7.98% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.28%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 6,266.67%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.