Naviter Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Naviter Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,431 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 166.2% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock opened at $43.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a current ratio of 6.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.84. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.94.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.26). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $376.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.44 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.04%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is presently 112.18%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GLPI. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.