Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $5.94 Million Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Macquarie restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.23. 1,183,446 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,305,930. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.86 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.80.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 111.03%.

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.