Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Buys New Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Macquarie restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,673,950.90. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961 over the last 90 days. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.4%

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,183,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,569. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $48.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.80. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.86 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The business had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.75%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is 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.