Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3,191.3% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GLPI. Morgan Stanley downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays started coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.53 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $345,351.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 149,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,513,968. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,490 shares of company stock worth $1,251,189 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.11. 861,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,054,682. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.87 and a 200-day moving average of $49.72. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $385.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.29%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.