Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 11.0%, bringing its total holdings to 68,568 shares valued at approximately $3.49 million.
• Other institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in GLPI, with Dodge & Cox raising its holdings by 75.3% to over 13.4 million shares worth $650 million.
• Gaming and Leisure Properties announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share, yielding around 6.6%, compared to the previous quarterly dividend of $0.76.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,768 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 64.2% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,872.7% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 651 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 0.1%

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.08. 276,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,455,418. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.71. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 7.39, a quick ratio of 7.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.01.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 46.32%. The firm had revenue of $394.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $397.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Gaming and Leisure Properties's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.58, for a total transaction of $186,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 136,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,379,270.74. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.16.

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.