Merit Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 9,846 Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,316,000 after purchasing an additional 289,643 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,716,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $405,492,000 after buying an additional 2,470,412 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 124.8% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 78,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 43,673 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $17.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 594.33 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.85 and a 12-month high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 8,266.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.93.

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.