GFS Advisors LLC Purchases 453,430 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

GFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 9,068.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 458,430 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 453,430 shares during the period. Blackstone Mortgage Trust accounts for 1.9% of GFS Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. GFS Advisors LLC owned 0.27% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $8,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,103,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth $10,656,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at about $6,983,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at about $4,790,000. Finally, Bracebridge Capital LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth about $4,141,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BXMT shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.25 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $23.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.16. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.13 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan purchased 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,414,153.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.52 per share, for a total transaction of $175,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan purchased 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $274,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,153.60. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,495 shares of company stock worth $27,899 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.