Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 13,267 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $15,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% in the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,172,000 after acquiring an additional 21,667 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth $3,165,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $693,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 63.1% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 51,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after buying an additional 20,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 11.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 539,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,395,000 after buying an additional 55,385 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,397,252. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,621,957.46. This trade represents a 10.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,858 shares of company stock valued at $1,171,377. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GLPI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.32.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $51.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.