Vestcor Inc Cuts Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 80,487 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 647.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,025,526 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $104,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,370 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 25.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,075,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,682,000 after acquiring an additional 821,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,162.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 812,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,820,000 after acquiring an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GLPI. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $50.55 on Tuesday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.77.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.