Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Sold by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc reduced its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,625 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,935 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 129.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 896,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,142,000 after buying an additional 505,382 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 12,362 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 85.8% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 37,925 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 17,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $526,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on GLPI. Wedbush set a $55.00 price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,504,817.60. The trade was a 6.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.26% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $47.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,613. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.86 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.90. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

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 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 company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a positive change 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 6.56%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.