Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 78,100 Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 78,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,996,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EPRT. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 998.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 3,246 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 367.7% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at about $137,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 15.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at about $200,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $14,433,053.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Essential Properties Realty Trust news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $14,433,053.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 11,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.35, for a total value of $289,862.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 571,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,918,606.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,524 shares of company stock worth $1,113,438. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EPRT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $27.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup upgraded 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 research report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essential Properties Realty Trust from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Raymond James raised their price objective on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.22.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

EPRT opened at $24.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.27. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.49 and a 12 month high of $26.77. The company has a current ratio of 5.01, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.14 and a 200 day moving average of $24.29.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.94%.

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.