Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.08% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $10,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 79,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $768,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 21,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 802,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,441.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.40 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.79. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $52.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 105.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GLPI. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,379,436. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,161 shares of company stock valued at $2,425,521 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in 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.