Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 165,024 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 165,024 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.28% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $300,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 87.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 6,724 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 50.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 26,348 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $687,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 667.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,799 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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 dropped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.3 %

GLPI stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.19. 275,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,542. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.51. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 6.44%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

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.