Prudential PLC Trims Stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Prudential PLC lessened its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,685 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $47.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.65. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,673,950.90. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,933 shares of company stock worth $2,533,487. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.11.

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.