Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 86,925 Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,912,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,925 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $11,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MPW. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Medical Properties Trust by 378.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 885,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after purchasing an additional 700,783 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 6,037 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 143,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 7,874 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 531,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,110,000 after buying an additional 11,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the third quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:MPW opened at $5.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -1.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.51 and a 52-week high of $6.55.

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -7.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medical Properties Trust

In other news, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total value of $43,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 366,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,916.36. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.53% of the company’s stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

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.