Eagle Asset Management Inc. Has $8.03 Million Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 287.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 119,609 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $8,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total transaction of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,621,957.46. This represents a 10.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.39, for a total value of $151,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 146,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,397,252. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,858 shares of company stock worth $1,171,377 in the last ninety days. 4.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GLPI shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $50.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.56 and its 200 day moving average is $48.46. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $385.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.29%.

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.