Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 200,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 36,074 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $10,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GLPI. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,378,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $166,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,765 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,771,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $399,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,397 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,301,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $150,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,459 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,397,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,207,000 after purchasing an additional 555,474 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,572,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,711,432,000 after purchasing an additional 555,332 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.4 %

GLPI stock opened at $44.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.71. The company has a current ratio of 6.47, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $51.31.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $376.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.44 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 16.79% and a net margin of 50.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.91%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

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.