Norinchukin Bank The Reduces Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Norinchukin Bank The lowered its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $650,094,000 after acquiring an additional 5,797,299 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,830,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $617,938,000 after purchasing an additional 571,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $300,395,000 after purchasing an additional 165,024 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $49.29 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.37. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.20 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $57,412.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,673,950.90. This represents a 2.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,024,241. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.18.

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.