Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 3,865 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 802,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $38,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 647.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,025,526 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,213,000 after buying an additional 1,754,370 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,075,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $209,682,000 after purchasing an additional 821,634 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 812,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,820,000 after purchasing an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 721,230 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.04.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $50.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.80. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its earnings results 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. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 6,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $323,838.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,490.45. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,161 shares of company stock worth $2,425,521. 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.