Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) to Issue $0.62 Quarterly Dividend

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 15th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, April 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 102.9% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Blackstone Mortgage Trust to earn $2.31 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 107.4%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.36. 263,444 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,161,544. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.91 and a 200-day moving average of $21.10. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $16.60 and a 12 month high of $23.82. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.67.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 81,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 7,045 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 132,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 26,395.0% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 107,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 106,636 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.