Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,832 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 8.7% in the 4th 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 increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.9% in 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. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% during 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. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,921 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 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. 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 54,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,516. The trade was a 24.55 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $48.43 on Tuesday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.41 and its 200-day moving average is $49.44.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given 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 6.28%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 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.