Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 4,125 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,125 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter worth $31,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 416.7% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 18,500.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 578.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GLPI shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.05, for a total value of $1,546,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 30,900 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,459,298.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Desiree A. Burke sold 12,973 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.02, for a total value of $674,855.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,621,957.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,478 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,429. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI opened at $50.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.20 and a 200-day moving average of $46.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 5.91 and a quick ratio of 5.91. The company has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 52.79%. The firm had revenue of $380.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is 112.18%.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

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.