Blackstone Mortgage Trust Insiders Added US$1.64m Of Stock To Their Holdings

Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman of the Board Timothy Johnson for US$998k worth of shares, at about US$17.50 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$19.92), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Blackstone Mortgage Trust insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

See our latest analysis for Blackstone Mortgage Trust

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Blackstone Mortgage Trust Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Blackstone Mortgage Trust. We can see that Independent Director Henry Nassau paid US$189k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership Of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Blackstone Mortgage Trust insiders own about US$40m worth of shares. That equates to 1.2% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Blackstone Mortgage Trust Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Blackstone Mortgage Trust we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Blackstone Mortgage Trust (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

Of course Blackstone Mortgage Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.