Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 304 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $627,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,553 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,537,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,378,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $166,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,765 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 36.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,910,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $134,074,000 after acquiring an additional 781,906 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 9,511,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $469,394,000 after acquiring an additional 282,828 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI traded down $0.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.88. 555,516 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,350,500. The firm has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.38. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $50.74. The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.38.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.