Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 1,543,346 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,931,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,543,346 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 5.98% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $253,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EPRT. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 666.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.09, for a total value of $677,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 247,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,704,558.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $238,979.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 554,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.09, for a total transaction of $677,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 247,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,704,558.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,288 shares of company stock valued at $918,830. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $27.50) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $25.00 to $28.50 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT opened at $27.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 7.61, a quick ratio of 7.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.69 and its 200 day moving average is $25.72. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.49 and a 12-month high of $28.18.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.68%.

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.