Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Decreases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. decreased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,123 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 23,050 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter valued at about $693,000. Aew Capital Management L P boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% in the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,679,000 after purchasing an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 76.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 13,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 152,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.04.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.2 %

GLPI opened at $50.61 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The stock has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.80.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 6,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $323,838.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,490.45. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,161 shares of company stock valued at $2,425,521. 4.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.