Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 511,170 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,038,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 511,170 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.03% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $66,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,341,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company's stock worth $65,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,506,000 after buying an additional 1,178,284 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $35,085,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,438,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPRT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $37.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.98.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, VP A Joseph Peil sold 13,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.96, for a total value of $435,961.92. Following the sale, the vice president owned 76,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,524,406.40. This trade represents a 14.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.76, a current ratio of 7.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.77. The firm has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.44 and a 12-month high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 44.62% and a return on equity of 6.13%. The firm had revenue of $129.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from Essential Properties Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.35%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.