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

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,029 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $46.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.33 and a 200 day moving average of $48.56. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.86 and a 12-month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.72%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of 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.