Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 122,055 Shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,825,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 122,055 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $16,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medical Properties Trust by 172.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 33,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 21,379 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the third quarter worth about $82,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 411,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 5,705 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 15.5% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 332,921 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 44,597 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 771,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the period. 71.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MPW shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Medical Properties Trust to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Colliers Securities upgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.92.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MPW opened at $3.73 on Friday. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.92 and a 12-month high of $6.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.72.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is -7.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medical Properties Trust

In other Medical Properties Trust news, Director Michael G. Stewart sold 32,780 shares of Medical Properties Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.46, for a total transaction of $178,978.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 221,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,997.70. The trade was a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO James Kevin Hanna sold 11,641 shares of Medical Properties Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 366,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,916.36. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,421 shares of company stock valued at $233,293. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.