Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 979 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GLPI. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,259,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $641,059,000 after purchasing an additional 889,698 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 161,689 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,534,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,726,000 after buying an additional 341,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 9.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,104,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $185,564,000 after buying an additional 350,250 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GLPI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,379,436. This represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,016 shares of company stock worth $741,943. Insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $46.42 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.14 and a 200-day moving average of $49.57. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $41.80 and a one year high of $52.60. The stock has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $385.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.09 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 51.93%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

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.