Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 211,657 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 211,657 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.56% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $206,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $624,356,000 after buying an additional 162,484 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $312,316,000 after buying an additional 161,689 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $284,726,000 after buying an additional 341,492 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,327,466 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $171,198,000 after buying an additional 96,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GLPI shares. 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. StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.53 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.93.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.56. 922,648 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,070. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.79. The firm has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.26%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,222 shares of company stock worth $1,624,947. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.