Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 10.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $51.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.34. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.95 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.18%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.