1,267,913 Shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Acquired by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,267,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 0.73% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blackstone Inc. increased its position 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 worth $169,074,000 after buying an additional 686,881 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at $10,656,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 528,950 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,983,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,790,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson purchased 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 423,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,406,892.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 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 insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $17.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 595.33 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.27. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.53%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,266.67%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.