Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $17.62 and last traded at $17.3760, with a volume of 1702514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BXMT. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 3.9%

The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.17.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 308.20%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 578,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,649,000 after acquiring an additional 155,421 shares in the last quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $2,991,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.4% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,696,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,229,000 after purchasing an additional 101,701 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2,836.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 214,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 207,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 865,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,933,000 after purchasing an additional 71,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.