Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Sees Large Volume Increase After Insider Buying Activity

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. Approximately 806,074 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 489,257 shares.The stock last traded at $3.98 and had previously closed at $3.61.

Specifically, CEO Richard Mack purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.38 per share, for a total transaction of $84,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,589,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,754,135.78. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mike Mcgillis acquired 24,115 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.30 per share, with a total value of $79,579.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 475,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,618.50. This trade represents a 5.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In related news, CEO Richard Mack bought 115,000 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $366,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,564,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,289.39. This represents a 4.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMTG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Trading Up 10.7 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $556.76 million, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 25.67 and a quick ratio of 20.68.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $60.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.07 million. Claros Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 4.72% and a negative net margin of 89.07%. As a group, analysts forecast that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMTG. Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $68,374,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,330,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,538,000 after buying an additional 10,835 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,165,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,436,000 after buying an additional 6,882 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,679,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,592,000 after buying an additional 277,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 649,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after buying an additional 170,244 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Claros Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It focuses on originating senior and subordinate loans on transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders.