53,819 Shares in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI Purchased by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 53,819 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,708 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 1.8%

GLPI stock opened at $45.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 13.23 and a current ratio of 13.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.69. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.17 and a fifty-two week high of $52.24.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 49.54%.The business had revenue of $397.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $399.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Gaming and Leisure Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.860-3.880 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.49, for a total value of $181,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 129,953 shares in the company, valued at $5,911,561.97. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Steven Ladany sold 13,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.04, for a total value of $603,941.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 57,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,185.44. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,864 shares of company stock valued at $1,832,866. 4.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $50.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.89.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc (NASDAQ: GLPI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and management of gaming and entertainment properties. Established in 2013 as a spin-off from Penn National Gaming, the company was designed to acquire and hold real estate assets associated with casinos, racetracks and other gaming facilities, while leasing those assets back to operating partners under long-term, triple-net lease agreements.

The company’s core activities involve identifying attractive gaming real estate, structuring lease agreements that align tenant incentives with property performance, and actively managing its portfolio to enhance asset value.