Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 5,355 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 124,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GLPI. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.57. 343,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,324,631. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.81. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $51.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GLPI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.11.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.