State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 32,588 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 32,588 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased 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 $2,900,558.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan bought 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,153.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 83,050 shares of company stock valued at $1,448,135 and sold 1,495 shares valued at $27,899. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $23.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.31 and its 200 day moving average is $18.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 661.00 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.87 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 7.98% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 6,266.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

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.