Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT Holdings Boosted by Dupree Financial Group LLC

Dupree Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 596,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 274,361 shares during the quarter. Blackstone Mortgage Trust accounts for about 1.8% of Dupree Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Dupree Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $6,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 248.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,142.4% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. 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 BXMT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 218,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,133,619.82. This trade represents a 4.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,716 shares of company stock valued at $46,815 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE BXMT opened at $11.04 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.78 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.35 and a 200-day moving average of $16.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.61, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.92.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business had revenue of $158.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.32 million. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 2,088.89%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company organized as a real estate investment trust. The company originates and holds senior loans secured by commercial properties, with a focus on institutional-quality assets and experienced real estate sponsors.

Its portfolio primarily consists of floating-rate mortgage loans used to finance acquisitions, refinancings, development and other capital needs for commercial real estate. The properties securing its loans may include office buildings, multifamily communities, hotels, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial assets.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.P., an affiliate of Blackstone.