Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Bought by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 5,507 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $617,938,000 after purchasing an additional 571,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $300,395,000 after buying an additional 165,024 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,468,000 after acquiring an additional 211,657 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,981,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $143,592,000 after acquiring an additional 394,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total transaction of $870,279.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,516. The trade was a 24.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.52. 904,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,244,651. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.20 and a 52 week high of $52.60. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.38. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 6.14%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.11.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.