GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 226 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,356,000 after purchasing an additional 162,484 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $312,316,000 after purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $284,726,000 after purchasing an additional 341,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $185,564,000 after buying an additional 350,250 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 6,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total value of $345,351.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 149,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,513,968. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,016 shares of company stock worth $741,943 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI opened at $46.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The firm has a market cap of $12.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 106.29%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.