Abacus Planning Group Inc. Invests $452,000 in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. bought a new stake in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 48,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 45,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 12,695 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 1,029.8% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 660,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 601,645 shares during the period. Arden Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Medical Properties Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $360,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 599.2% in the 1st quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 93,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 79,951 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 565,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 64,488 shares during the period. 76.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MPW shares. Raymond James downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Medical Properties Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Three 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.92.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of MPW stock opened at $6.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.53. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.31 and a 12-month high of $14.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 14th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 13th. Medical Properties Trust’s payout ratio is currently 545.45%.

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 444 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds in ten countries and across four continents.