Swiss National Bank Reduces Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 821,345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $40,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.9% in the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,602 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 82,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,794,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.02. 1,218,825 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,427,527. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.71. The firm has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 6.47 and a quick ratio of 6.47. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $51.31.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.26). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.91%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.