Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 8,935 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,935 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $617,938,000 after acquiring an additional 571,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $300,395,000 after purchasing an additional 165,024 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $176,123,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GLPI shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.63.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $45.98 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.86 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The company had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,147,083.02. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,842 shares of company stock worth $1,153,961. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.