Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Invests $4.29 Million in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 59,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,291,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Boyd Gaming at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,535 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 14,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490 in the last ninety days. 21.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BYD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Boyd Gaming from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 2.4 %

BYD stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,415,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,722. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.67 and a 200-day moving average of $71.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

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.