Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 5,566 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,819 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,566 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $2,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPRT. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $69,473,000. Adelante Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 3,964.9% in the third quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,111,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,287 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 434.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,086,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,105,000 after acquiring an additional 883,053 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,503,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,491,000 after purchasing an additional 621,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 555,926 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $959,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 218,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,998,932.15. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lowered shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.55.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of EPRT opened at $32.56 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.28. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $34.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.40.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.