Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 1,360 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.11.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $52.02 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.13. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.16 and a 200 day moving average of $45.86. The company has a quick ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.