Ninety One UK Ltd Raises Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,395,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,982 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $67,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,356,000 after buying an additional 162,484 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,316,000 after acquiring an additional 161,689 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,726,000 after acquiring an additional 341,492 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after acquiring an additional 211,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.3 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $48.56 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.79. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research 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 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,222 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,947. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.