Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,845 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,623 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Boyd Gaming worth $11,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,535 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 25,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction 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 $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock valued at $5,123,749 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of BYD stock traded down $2.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $74.17. 819,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 932,518. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $80.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.