Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 98.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 181,705 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,522 shares of the company's stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company's stock worth $63,349,000 after acquiring an additional 189,226 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 9.8% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 48,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,639 shares of the company's stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 8,591 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BYD traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,108,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,244. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.83 and a 200-day moving average of $65.02. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In related news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.43, for a total transaction of $1,539,245.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 438,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,330,269.45. This represents a 4.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.