Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,153,768 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.31% of Boyd Gaming worth $74,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BYD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the second quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,241,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,685. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $71.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.