Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 119,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,741,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,142,000 after purchasing an additional 505,382 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 6,665 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the 3rd 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, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 741,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,131,000 after purchasing an additional 11,822 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on 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. Wedbush set a $55.00 target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total value of $170,723.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,504,817.60. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 0.5 %

GLPI stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.43. The stock had a trading volume of 480,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,828. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $42.86 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company's 50 day moving average is $49.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.25. The company has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.41%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.