First Trust Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 70.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 86,715 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $10,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,679,000 after acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GLPI. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. Insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI stock opened at $47.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.40 and a 200 day moving average of $49.29. 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 market cap of $13.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.62 and a 1 year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

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.

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