Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 64,949 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,468 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,949 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Boyd Gaming worth $10,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BYD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 943 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. Insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 785,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,644. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.03 and a 200-day moving average of $63.74. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $76.73. 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 declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BYD. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.64.

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.