Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,174,321 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,877 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.67% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $36,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,100,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,451 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,865 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,342,000 after buying an additional 284,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,689 shares of the company's stock worth $7,404,000 after buying an additional 20,982 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.18. 1,358,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,410,149. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.82 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 103.51%.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EPRT shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.91.

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.