Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Bought by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $48.80 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.20 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. The trade was a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,024,241 in the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GLPI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.