Creative Planning Decreases Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Creative Planning lessened its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,671 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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 initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,900,558.64. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 165,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and have sold 1,495 shares worth $27,899. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $17.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -19.68 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $23.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.62%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -208.89%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.