Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases 2,000 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BXMT. Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.5% during 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 buying an additional 686,881 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,531,729 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,850,000 after acquiring an additional 106,670 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $38,747,000. LDR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. LDR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,796,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,206,000 after purchasing an additional 35,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $39,123.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,454.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $38,493.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,578.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $39,123.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,454.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,057 shares of company stock worth $191,141 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.59. 2,717,489 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,478,844. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.87 and a 200 day moving average of $18.89. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.70 and a 1 year high of $23.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 586.33 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8,266.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Friday, July 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.58.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.