Pitcairn Co. Reduces Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth $176,123,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth $49,188,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6,162.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 812,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,820,000 after purchasing an additional 800,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 721,230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $47.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.80 and a 12 month high of $52.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.65.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.35%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487 in the last ninety days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.