EWG Elevate Inc. Purchases 7,646 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

EWG Elevate Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 35.3% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the quarter. EWG Elevate Inc.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GLPI. Scotiabank cut 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of 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, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.50.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI remained flat at $46.09 during midday trading on Thursday. 1,866,328 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,146. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.86 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.64. The company has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction 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 owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

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.