2,876 Shares in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Acquired by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,887 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,273,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,074,000 after purchasing an additional 441,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 964,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,932,000 after purchasing an additional 261,443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 21.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.07.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:BYD opened at $72.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.56.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.38 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.75%.

Boyd Gaming Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.