State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys 10,000 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 468,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $23,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GLPI. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $2,501,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $1,473,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 107.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 45,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,260,000 after acquiring an additional 23,722 shares during the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Gaming and Leisure Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $3,944,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,701,000. Institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gaming and Leisure Properties news, Director E Scott Urdang bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.00 per share, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 156,685 shares in the company, valued at $7,050,825. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. 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. 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.09.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of GLPI stock traded down $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $43.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,026,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,592. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.93. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The company has a current ratio of 7.41, a quick ratio of 7.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. This is a positive change 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 presently 109.75%.

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.