Convergence Investment Partners LLC Purchases 13,269 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 55.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 13,269 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GLPI. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $507,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,536,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 908,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,737,000 after buying an additional 364,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 185,861 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,951,000 after buying an additional 43,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.58, for a total value of $186,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 136,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,379,270.74. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,986,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,924. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.48 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.12, a quick ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 46.32% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The firm had revenue of $394.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $397.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.68%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $51.25 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Macquarie restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.30.

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.