Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 32,190 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 389,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 32,190 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $18,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 185,861 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,951,000 after purchasing an additional 43,850 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 908,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,737,000 after acquiring an additional 364,942 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,536,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 145,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,999,000 after acquiring an additional 39,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 48,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded down $1.53 on Friday, reaching $47.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,880,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,804. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.66. 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 $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.35%. 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.