Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Acquired by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 1,441.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,679,000 after buying an additional 721,230 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,155,000 after buying an additional 23,050 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 220,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,625,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 152,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,341,000 after buying an additional 5,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI opened at $49.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.71 and its 200-day moving average is $49.81. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. On average, analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.11%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank cut 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, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.