Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GLPI. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,094,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $49,188,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,873,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,364,000 after acquiring an additional 933,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 3,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total transaction of $170,723.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,504,817.60. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,153,961. Company insiders own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $47.30 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.88. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.86 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 111.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $54.63.

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.