Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 685,359 Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 685,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,438,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.39% of Essential Properties Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,709 shares of the company's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 50,884 shares of the company's stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 8.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of EPRT traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.03. 2,676,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,191. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50 day moving average is $31.67 and its 200-day moving average is $32.39. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.72 and a 52 week high of $34.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a current 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target 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 twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.48.

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.