Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,320 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 309,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,276,000 after purchasing an additional 66,601 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at $2,396,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% in the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,172,000 after buying an additional 21,667 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth about $3,165,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 72.5% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 24,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 10,209 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GLPI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at $10,459,298.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock worth $2,495,429 over the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.45. The company has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.99. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 52.79% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.18%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.