Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Acquired by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 97.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,588 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $1,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,572,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,711,432,000 after buying an additional 555,332 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,474,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $961,773,000 after buying an additional 393,420 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,515,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $493,511,000 after buying an additional 1,255,222 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,183,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $445,054,000 after buying an additional 214,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,771,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $399,523,000 after buying an additional 1,188,397 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.09.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $42.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.41, a current ratio of 7.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.05. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.44 and a 52 week high of $52.45. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 109.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.00 per share, with a total value of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

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.