Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total value of $509,245.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,825.34. The trade was a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

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.