Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after buying an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $624,356,000 after acquiring an additional 162,484 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,080,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $312,316,000 after acquiring an additional 161,689 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,468,000 after purchasing an additional 211,657 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the fourth quarter worth $176,123,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total value of $98,936.97. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,147,083.02. The trade was a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 140,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,173,098.17. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock valued at $2,778,908. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GLPI. Morgan Stanley lowered Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $50.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.71. 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 12-month low of $41.80 and a 12-month high of $52.60. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

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

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of 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.