American Century Companies Inc. Sells 42,909 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,307,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,909 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $40,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased 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 acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.39. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.72 and a 12 month high of $34.88. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EPRT. Scotiabank decreased their price target on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Insider Activity at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.