Vestcor Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 93.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 80,487 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 647.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,025,526 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,213,000 after buying an additional 1,754,370 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 25.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,075,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $209,682,000 after acquiring an additional 821,634 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 812,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,820,000 after purchasing an additional 800,000 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.5 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.20. 1,903,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,178,709. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.