Merit Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 41,099 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,610,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,853 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC increased its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 5,065,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,200 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Medical Properties Trust by 0.3% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,852,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,447,000 after acquiring an additional 13,585 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 4,546,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,321,000 after purchasing an additional 228,716 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 880.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,951,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,536,000 after purchasing an additional 3,548,423 shares in the last quarter. 71.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Colliers Securities lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $4.25 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $2.00 to $5.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.75.

Medical Properties Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPW opened at $4.47 on Thursday. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.92 and a 12 month high of $10.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.32.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -63.83%.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023.