ProShare Advisors LLC Has $463,000 Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,196 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $83,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan bought 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,414,153.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at $7,406,892.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan acquired 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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 90 days, insiders have acquired 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and have sold 1,495 shares worth $27,899. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 613.00 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.53 and a 52 week high of $23.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $131.87 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 7.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.22%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is presently 6,266.67%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.