Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 105,294 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 702,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 105,294 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.79% of Boyd Gaming worth $45,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,611,000 after purchasing an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 167,542 shares of the company's stock worth $10,831,000 after purchasing an additional 32,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,222 shares of the company's stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $2,939,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD traded down $3.07 on Wednesday, hitting $70.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 833,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,808. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.65. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.64.

About Boyd Gaming

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.