Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $796,000 Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 142.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the third quarter worth $39,000. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Six investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.15.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.86 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.79. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. On average, research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 105.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $248,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 145,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,783.16. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. The trade was a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,222 shares of company stock worth $1,873,547 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

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.