Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 2,627 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,627 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $5,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the fourth quarter worth $129,106,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,906,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,404,000 after buying an additional 1,278,566 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,515,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $493,511,000 after buying an additional 1,255,222 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 811.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,349,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,260,000 after buying an additional 1,201,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,218,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,605,894,000 after buying an additional 1,199,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GLPI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.09.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $42.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 7.41 and a current ratio of 7.41. The company has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.94. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.75%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.