Moran Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,689 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EPRT. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 74.5% in 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 raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1,834.4% in 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 boosted its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 215.4% in 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 grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 275.5% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPRT has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, B. Riley lowered Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPRT opened at $31.12 on Wednesday. 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 $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.40. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.72 and a 12 month high of $34.88.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 45.15% and a return on equity of 6.12%. Analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s payout ratio is 103.51%.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

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.