Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 20,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.78 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.69. 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 market cap of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $345,351.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 149,800 shares in the company, 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 a total of 25,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,251,189 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.