EWG Elevate Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

EWG Elevate Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 35.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,303 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the period. EWG Elevate Inc.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 116,771.4% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 8,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 8,174 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 823,472 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,600.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 189,348 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,638,000 after purchasing an additional 186,522 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.44. The stock had a trading volume of 876,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,289. 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 capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.59.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.72%. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is presently 111.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. Barclays raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.