Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 440,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 11,730 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $21,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 838,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,393,000 after buying an additional 116,600 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,864,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 27,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 3,852 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 389,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,641,000 after buying an additional 32,190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total transaction of $870,279.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 54,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,674,516. This represents a 24.55 % 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 valued at $2,533,487 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.9 %

GLPI stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.62. The company had a trading volume of 333,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,030. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.63 and a 200 day moving average of $49.69. 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 company has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 6.13%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on 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. 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 research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.