Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Sees Large Volume Increase on Insider Buying Activity

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following insider buying activity. Approximately 806,074 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session's volume of 489,257 shares.The stock last traded at $3.98 and had previously closed at $3.61.

Specifically, CEO Richard Mack acquired 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.38 per share, with a total value of $84,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,589,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,754,135.78. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mike Mcgillis acquired 24,115 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.30 per share, with a total value of $79,579.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 475,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,618.50. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other news, CEO Richard Mack acquired 115,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $366,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,564,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,289.39. This represents a 4.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CMTG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 20.68, a current ratio of 25.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $3.28 and its 200-day moving average is $5.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $570.69 million, a PE ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 1.63.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.03. Claros Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 89.07% and a positive return on equity of 4.72%. The company had revenue of $60.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.07 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $68,374,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,330,895 shares of the company's stock worth $10,538,000 after purchasing an additional 10,835 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,165,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,679,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,592,000 after acquiring an additional 277,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 649,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 170,244 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It focuses on originating senior and subordinate loans on transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders.