Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $81,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc grew its position in Medical Properties Trust by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 527,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 401,920 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 38,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $122,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 297,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 16,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.79% of the company’s stock.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

MPW stock opened at $4.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.92 and a 1 year high of $10.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.35.

Medical Properties Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.93%. Medical Properties Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -63.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Colliers Securities lowered Medical Properties Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $4.25 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.75.

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.