Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 116,600 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 838,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,600 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $40,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.44 and its 200 day moving average is $49.74. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. The stock has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GLPI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

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.