Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 506,997 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 93.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 506,997 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $624,356,000 after buying an additional 162,484 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $312,316,000 after acquiring an additional 161,689 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,468,000 after acquiring an additional 211,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,981,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $143,592,000 after acquiring an additional 394,069 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six 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, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total transaction of $509,245.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,488,825.34. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 4.1 %

GLPI stock traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.81. 2,194,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,253. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The company has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.51.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for 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%. Research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 105.92%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.