Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 28,473 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,695,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 28,473 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $87,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 90,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 54,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total transaction of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,397,252. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,758 shares of company stock valued at $2,717,922. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.54.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $48.72 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. 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 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. The business had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $385.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.