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

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,781,866 shares of the company's stock after selling 113,239 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 1.02% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $55,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on EPRT. Barclays dropped their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Finally, B. Riley downgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.91.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of EPRT traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,610,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,400,527. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.72 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust's payout ratio is currently 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.