Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 118.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 22.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 2,841 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5,015.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 53,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 52,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 31.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total value of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,222 shares of company stock worth $1,624,947. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.5 %

GLPI stock opened at $48.85 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.77. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.