Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,685 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in 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. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $47.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The firm has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.65.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. On average, research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total transaction of $509,245.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,825.34. This represents a 12.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 over the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.