Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 46,694 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,550,099 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 46,694 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.45% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $79,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 100,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after buying an additional 9,420 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $79,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,033,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,535,000 after acquiring an additional 96,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. 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 target price for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, B. Riley lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,817,663.90. The trade was a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of EPRT opened at $30.77 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.72 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.38. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.