Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 49,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 440,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,219,000 after buying an additional 11,730 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 838,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,393,000 after buying an additional 116,600 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $4,864,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $176,123,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JMP Securities restated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six equities 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $50.40 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $49.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.71.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.