First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI – Get Rating) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $8,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 118.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GLPI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $50.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $55.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.59.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.82 per share, with a total value of $53,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,080,104.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $162,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 215,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,662,974. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 1,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.82 per share, for a total transaction of $53,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,080,104.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc is engaged in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple net lease arrangements. It operates through the GLP Capital and TRS Properties segments. The GLP Capital segment consists of the leased real property and represents the majority of business.