Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,502 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Gaming and Leisure Properties worth $12,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings 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 valued at $14,276,000 after purchasing an additional 66,601 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 1st quarter worth $2,396,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,709,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $627,204,000 after buying an additional 3,684,553 shares during the period. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1.5% in the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,479,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,172,000 after buying an additional 21,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the second quarter valued at $3,165,000. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $52.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $51.14 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.51 and a 200-day moving average of $46.79. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 5.91, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.80 and a twelve month high of $52.60.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted 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 business had revenue of $380.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 112.18%.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

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

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.