Swiss National Bank Lowers Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 775,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 28,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $37,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $312,316,000 after purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,327,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,198,000 after purchasing an additional 96,028 shares during the period. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GLPI opened at $49.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.78.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GLPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,147,083.02. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.