UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 86.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,759,489 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.10% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $12,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,142,000 after buying an additional 505,382 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 165.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 259,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,503,000 after buying an additional 161,976 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 64,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 12,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.5%

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,803,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,912. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.86 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.77 and a 200 day moving average of $48.69.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GLPI shares. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 6,419 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $323,838.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,490.45. This trade represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,704 shares of company stock worth $847,949 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

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.