Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 936 Shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,796 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust were worth $1,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EPRT. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,462,000 after purchasing an additional 98,467 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 94,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 26,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,872,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,866,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. 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. Finally, B. Riley cut Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock 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 eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total value of $406,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 178,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE:EPRT opened at $30.77 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.72 and a twelve month high of $34.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.38.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.51%.

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.