Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Position Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 900.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BYD. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company's stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 497,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,403,000 after purchasing an additional 98,508 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 61,599 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.37. The stock had a trading volume of 337,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,233. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $76.73. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.20.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently 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.