Dodge & Cox Increases Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 75.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox owned about 4.92% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $650,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GLPI. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value 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. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,487. Insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GLPI. Barclays cut their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 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. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $49.52. 904,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,651. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.42 and its 200 day moving average is $49.39.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.