Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 3,852 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $66,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GLPI. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total value of $870,279.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,516. This trade represents a 24.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.2 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.40 on Monday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.70. The stock has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm 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%. Research analysts predict that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

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.