Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,026,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 464,249 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.93% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $412,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 27.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 309,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,276,000 after buying an additional 66,601 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the first quarter worth approximately $2,396,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% during the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,172,000 after buying an additional 21,667 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $3,165,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 72.5% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 24,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 10,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock opened at $49.04 on Thursday. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.89. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $385.34 million during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 106.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $52.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $274,028.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 156,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,660,329.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,605 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total value of $274,028.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,660,329.65. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total transaction of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,363 shares of company stock valued at $2,991,951 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.37% 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.