Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Shares Sold by Cohen & Steers Inc.

Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,898,312 shares of the company's stock after selling 971,736 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 3.36% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $184,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,284 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,468,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,642,000 after buying an additional 118,927 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,422,710 shares of the company's stock worth $138,342,000 after buying an additional 284,036 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,948,952 shares of the company's stock worth $92,246,000 after buying an additional 469,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company's stock worth $89,866,000 after buying an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, hitting $32.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,358,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,149. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.82 and a 52-week high of $34.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.13. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is 103.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Company 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.