Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 12,009 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,856 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,009 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $6,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,142,000 after buying an additional 505,382 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,107 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.70.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ GLPI traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,290,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,059. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $42.86 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The business had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total transaction of $170,723.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,504,817.60. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. Company insiders own 4.37% 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.