Zacks Investment Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 466,134 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 56,063 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.17% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $22,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $617,938,000 after acquiring an additional 571,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $300,395,000 after acquiring an additional 165,024 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $176,123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $57,412.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,673,950.90. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,024,241. Insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target 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. 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.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ GLPI traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.49. 242,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,192. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.20 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $49.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.37. The company has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid 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 payout ratio is 105.92%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.