Arizona State Retirement System Has $3.56 Million Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 72,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 46.2% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 123,317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,837,000 after buying an additional 38,942 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 41.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 21,974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 22.2% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.00 per share, with a total value of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 1.2 %

GLPI opened at $45.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 7.41 and a quick ratio of 7.41. The company has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.12. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.54 and a fifty-two week high of $52.45.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. This is an increase from Gaming and Leisure Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 109.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GLPI shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.09.

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.