Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 942 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2,547.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 19,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $3,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.61 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.80. 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 52 week low of $41.80 and a 52 week high of $52.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 6.01%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.92%.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total value of $248,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,783.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 17,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.40, for a total value of $870,279.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 54,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,516. The trade was a 24.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,161 shares of company stock worth $2,425,521 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.04.

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.