Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 46,196 Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. $GLPI

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 99,164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 46,196 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $4,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in the third quarter worth approximately $1,162,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,998,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,154,000 after acquiring an additional 124,745 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $124,785,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 273,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,725,000 after purchasing an additional 57,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties by 691,400.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 48,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 48,398 shares during the last quarter. 91.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In other news, SVP Steven Ladany sold 13,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.04, for a total value of $603,941.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 57,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,185.44. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,864 shares of company stock valued at $1,650,906. Corporate insiders own 4.26% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLPI opened at $45.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 13.23, a current ratio of 13.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.41. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.17 and a twelve month high of $52.24.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is presently 113.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GLPI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Gaming and Leisure Properties from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $50.00 price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.70.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc (NASDAQ: GLPI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and management of gaming and entertainment properties. Established in 2013 as a spin-off from Penn National Gaming, the company was designed to acquire and hold real estate assets associated with casinos, racetracks and other gaming facilities, while leasing those assets back to operating partners under long-term, triple-net lease agreements.

The company’s core activities involve identifying attractive gaming real estate, structuring lease agreements that align tenant incentives with property performance, and actively managing its portfolio to enhance asset value.