Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $5.74 Million 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 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 119,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,741,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $650,094,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P increased its stake 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 worth $36,679,000 after acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GLPI. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 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. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.70.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.8 %

GLPI traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.86. 2,415,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,266,360. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $42.62 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $49.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.28. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total transaction of $170,723.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,504,817.60. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31 % 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 over the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.