Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 666.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 11.2% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $238,979.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 9,188 shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $238,979.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,433,053.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter M. Mavoides sold 11,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.35, for a total transaction of $289,862.40. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold 44,524 shares of company stock worth $1,113,438 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of EPRT stock opened at $25.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.46. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.49 and a fifty-two week high of $26.77.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EPRT shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up previously from $27.50) on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $28.50 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.22.

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.