Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Bought by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,507 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487 over the last quarter. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GLPI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.52. The stock had a trading volume of 904,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,918. 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 12 month low of $42.20 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.41.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.14%. 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.