Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) CEO Peter M. Mavoides Sells 9,188 Shares

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 554,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $26.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.27. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.49 and a 52 week high of $26.77. The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.92 and a 200-day moving average of $24.01.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Properties Realty Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 10,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 65,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 23,396 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 357,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,055,000 after buying an additional 8,022 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 172,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,470,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,944,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,592,000 after purchasing an additional 788,670 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EPRT. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $27.50) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $28.50 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.22.

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.