Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases 719 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $641,059,000 after acquiring an additional 889,698 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 162,484 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,287,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,468,000 after acquiring an additional 211,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,327,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,198,000 after acquiring an additional 96,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 11.35, a quick ratio of 11.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.64 and a 200-day moving average of $49.81. The firm has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $389.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $57,412.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,673,950.90. This trade represents a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on GLPI shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Six equities 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, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Profile

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.