Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 39,280 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.05% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $6,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 37.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 172,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,893,000 after acquiring an additional 102,858 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at about $311,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $693,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 182.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31 % 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, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40 % 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GLPI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays cut 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 report on Monday, February 24th. 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, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI stock traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $50.49. 1,483,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,264. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.74.

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. The company had revenue of $389.62 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

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.