Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,009 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $6,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 23,050 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 24,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Aew Capital Management L P boosted its holdings 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,188,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $768,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $57,412.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,673,950.90. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961 in the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GLPI. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.70.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.19. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.86 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.44%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

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.