Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 71,111 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI - Free Report) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 263,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 71,111 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $12,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 149.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GLPI. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.70.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $57,412.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,673,950.90. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.20. 1,617,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,402. The company's fifty day moving average price is $49.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.86 and a 52-week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.