Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,280 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned about 0.05% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $6,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $50.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.75. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 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, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.