Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 281,995 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,486,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281,995 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.85% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $46,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 4.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6,512.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 13,937 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 12.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 3,309 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 7.2% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 374,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,780,000 after purchasing an additional 25,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 10,242 shares in the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. B. Riley cut shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $33.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.48.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Up 0.3 %

Essential Properties Realty Trust stock opened at $32.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.65 and its 200 day moving average is $32.37. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.53 and a 12-month high of $34.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Essential Properties Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Essential Properties Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Properties Realty Trust

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This trade represents a 6.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.