Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,942 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 303,144 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.06% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $7,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,679,000 after purchasing an additional 721,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,142,000 after acquiring an additional 505,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.46 on Friday, reaching $49.52. The stock had a trading volume of 904,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,824. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.