State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $13.98 Million Stock Holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 159,346 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.11% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $13,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.9 %

GLPI opened at $51.62 on Friday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.80 and a fifty-two week high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.68 and its 200 day moving average is $46.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $377.95 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,660,329.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.