National Pension Service Buys 57,511 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 37.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 57,511 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.08% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $10,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 309,882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,276,000 after acquiring an additional 66,601 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the first quarter valued at $2,396,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $68,172,000 after buying an additional 21,667 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,165,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 24,282 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 10,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GLPI. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.77. 1,055,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,363. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $51.04 and its 200-day moving average is $47.90.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,397,252. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 146,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,397,252. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,991,951 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.