Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 1,260,814 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,462,184 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,260,814 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 4.51% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $264,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 226,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,069,000 after buying an additional 20,706 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 54,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 236,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,053,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,224,000 after acquiring an additional 18,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EPRT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research 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 objective on the stock. Barclays cut 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $959,700.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $32.45 on Wednesday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.72 and a 1 year high of $34.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.85 and its 200 day moving average is $32.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.51%.

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.