Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 309,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,276,000 after purchasing an additional 66,601 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,396,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,553 shares during the period. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $68,172,000 after acquiring an additional 21,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.18.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $50.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.04. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.03%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $5,621,957.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,621,957.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.