Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Decreases Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 97.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 164,665 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in 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 valued at $650,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $617,938,000 after buying an additional 571,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 165,024 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,468,000 after buying an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $176,123,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.63.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $46.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,183,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,569. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.80. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.86 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The company has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $57,412.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,673,950.90. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,153,961 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

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.