Cetera Investment Advisers Has $2.98 Million Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 5,383 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $2,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $49,188,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,873,006 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $138,364,000 after acquiring an additional 933,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,679,000 after acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $57,412.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,673,950.90. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. 4.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.63.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,195,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,838. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $42.86 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.88. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The company had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 111.03%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.