Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 571,720 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 571,720 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 4.68% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $617,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GLPI. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted 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. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,880,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,001. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.65. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.54 million. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.