Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 400,138 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,046,765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,840,168,000 after buying an additional 496,833 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 6,809.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 46,120,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $427,070,000 after buying an additional 45,452,713 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,158,910 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $774,593,000 after buying an additional 3,800,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,696,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $109,424,000 after purchasing an additional 217,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 4,205.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,742,667 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $90,217,000 after purchasing an additional 9,516,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.46% of the company's stock.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MPW opened at $3.28 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.92 and a 1 year high of $13.14.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 6th. Medical Properties Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -857.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MPW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "sell" rating and a $2.00 target price for the company. TheStreet cut Medical Properties Trust from a "c-" rating to a "d+" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Medical Properties Trust from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.00.

Medical Properties Trust 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.

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