Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Shares in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,021,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $49,188,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Gaming and Leisure Properties at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 194,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,344,000 after buying an additional 128,500 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,265 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 182,164 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,773,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 813,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,200,000 after purchasing an additional 157,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.52. The stock had a trading volume of 904,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,651. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.20 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.14%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GLPI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.11.

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.