Voloridge Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 944,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 57,388 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $45,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,498,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,094,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797,299 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 4.7% during 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 buying an additional 571,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,245,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $300,395,000 after buying an additional 165,024 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position 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 worth $206,468,000 after buying an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $176,123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GLPI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.63.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Down 0.4%

GLPI opened at $47.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.88. The company has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.86 and a 52 week high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $395.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.27 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,147,083.02. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total transaction of $254,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,842 shares of company stock valued at $1,153,961. Company insiders own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company 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.