Aspire Private Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 20,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,016 shares of company stock valued at $741,943. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.93.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.72. 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 (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.29%.

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.