Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vestcor Inc decreased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 80,487 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.0% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 19,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 162.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 97,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after buying an additional 60,489 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908 over the last quarter. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of GLPI opened at $50.55 on Tuesday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $48.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price target 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. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.96.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.