Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,781,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113,239 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $55,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 100,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after purchasing an additional 9,420 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter worth $281,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,535,000 after buying an additional 96,615 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,998,932.15. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.77 on Monday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.72 and a 12 month high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.37.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.51%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc, a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis.