Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 2,700 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $3,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,135,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $624,356,000 after purchasing an additional 162,484 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% in the third 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 boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,327,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,198,000 after purchasing an additional 96,028 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,379,436. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,222 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,947. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.53 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.93.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.35, a current ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.77. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 105.92%.

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.