Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,031,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,357 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $386,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3,191.3% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on GLPI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.93.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 1.4 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $48.61 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.29%.

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.