Westpac Banking Corp Sells 7,970 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,970 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $2,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total value of $870,279.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,674,516. This represents a 24.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded up $1.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,194,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,253. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.51. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month 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 announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 6.36%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is 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.