Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 116,600 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 838,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 116,600 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.31% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $40,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $624,356,000 after acquiring an additional 162,484 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $312,316,000 after acquiring an additional 161,689 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $50.77. 368,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,394. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.69. The company has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. Equities 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 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.