Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,645,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 104,397 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.72% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $1,812,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 43,850 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 908,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,737,000 after purchasing an additional 364,942 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,536,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 37.0% in 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 buying an additional 39,280 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 48,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 3,147 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 278,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908 over the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $50.90. 1,763,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,223,692. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $49.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.69. 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 results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.54 million. Equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GLPI. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.96.

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.