New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,910 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 14,800 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $9,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Dodge & Cox grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $650,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 933,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 571,720 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.68.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.70. 1,346,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,329,312. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.72. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.48 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 4.12 and a quick ratio of 4.12.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 50.41%. The company had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.78 dividend. 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 yield of 6.54%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.58, for a total value of $186,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.