Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 813,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 157,753 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.30% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $39,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total transaction of $509,245.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,825.34. This trade represents a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.68. 1,724,101 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,245,567. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.45.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. On average, analysts expect 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 disclosed 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 6.38%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.11.

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.