TCW Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

TCW Group Inc. trimmed its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 65.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,111 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 64,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.15.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $48.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.12 and a 200-day moving average of $49.77. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. On average, analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,222 shares of company stock worth $1,624,947 over the last ninety days. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.