Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 350,250 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 350,250 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $185,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,537,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 224,799 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,094,000 after acquiring an additional 6,351 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.11.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,621,957.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $50.85 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a current ratio of 5.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.46.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.98%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

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.