Pensionfund DSM Netherlands Cuts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Pensionfund DSM Netherlands reduced its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Gaming and Leisure Properties accounts for approximately 1.2% of Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,503,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,350,000 after acquiring an additional 173,810 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 741,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,131,000 after buying an additional 11,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,397,252. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

GLPI traded up $0.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.15. 52,457 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,230. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.98. 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 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. 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.