Insider Selling: Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

E Scott Urdang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 25th, E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

GLPI traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $50.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,142,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,195,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a current ratio of 11.35. 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 market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GLPI shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gaming and Leisure Properties

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $650,094,000 after buying an additional 5,797,299 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $617,938,000 after purchasing an additional 571,720 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,356,000 after purchasing an additional 162,484 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $300,395,000 after purchasing an additional 165,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.