Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $796,000 Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aew Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 220,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $768,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,222 shares of company stock valued at $1,873,547. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $49.86 on Tuesday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.36 and a 200-day moving average of $49.79.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 target price for the company. Finally, 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 company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.15.

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.