Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 150,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $6,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter worth $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI opened at $51.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.47 and a 200-day moving average of $46.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a current ratio of 5.91. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GLPI shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.