Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.73 Billion Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,480,868 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,098 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.81% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $1,726,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 19,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.75 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.27.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $48.32. 267,982 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,011. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $50.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 6.47 and a current ratio of 6.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.98.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $376.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.44 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 16.79%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.