Apella Capital LLC Buys Shares of 5,474 Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,474 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $46.09 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.86 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.62. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GLPI shares. Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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