Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $773,000 in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. has made a new investment of approximately $773,000 in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. by acquiring 15,187 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Gaming and Leisure Properties, with notable raises from firms such as TD Private Client Wealth LLC by 64.2% and GF Fund Management CO. LTD. by 4.2%.
• Gaming and Leisure Properties has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.78 per share, reflecting a yield of 6.68%, despite a payout ratio of over 111%.

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,187 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,873,006 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $138,364,000 after buying an additional 933,842 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the fourth 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 period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GLPI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment 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, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 136,953 shares in the company, valued at $6,379,270.74. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.4%

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Monday, hitting $46.52. 330,489 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,441,480. The business's 50 day moving average is $46.96 and its 200 day moving average is $48.08. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.48 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The company has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 7.39, a quick ratio of 7.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.01). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 46.32% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm had revenue of $394.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $397.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.93%.

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.