Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 52,627 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,095,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,627 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $847,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,336,000 after purchasing an additional 76,475 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,462,000 after purchasing an additional 98,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 555,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.40. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.72 and a fifty-two week high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. B. Riley downgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.