Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Increases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 85.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,511 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 90,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $48.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.58.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLPI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,379,436. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $345,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 149,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,513,968. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,016 shares of company stock worth $741,943 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.