Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Position Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,026,857 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 464,249 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.93% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $412,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.18.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 $5,621,957.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at $10,459,298.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,363 shares of company stock worth $2,991,951. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.39. 1,542,589 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $51.08 and its 200-day moving average is $47.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.93% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.29%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.