In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$19.29. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Blackstone Mortgage Trust insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Blackstone Mortgage Trust insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Blackstone Mortgage Trust insiders own 0.9% of the company, worth about US$29m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Blackstone Mortgage Trust Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Blackstone Mortgage Trust insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Blackstone Mortgage Trust. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Blackstone Mortgage Trust you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious.

But note: Blackstone Mortgage Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.