Barr E S & Co. Boosts Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Barr E S & Co. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 232,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,450 shares during the quarter. Gaming and Leisure Properties accounts for 0.7% of Barr E S & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Barr E S & Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $11,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 904,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,824. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50 day moving average is $49.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.42. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Equities research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.