Apollon Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Apollon Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 49.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 42,436 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 151.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 259.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BXMT. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 72,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,244,385.93. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:BXMT opened at $17.23 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.88 and a 12-month high of $20.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 308.20%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.