Arizona State Retirement System Boosts Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $3,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GLPI. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.04.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $50.61 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.53 and its 200 day moving average is $49.80. The stock has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,161 shares of company stock worth $2,425,521 over the last three months. Company 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.