UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 21,272 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,272 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.14% of Boyd Gaming worth $8,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.38.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $10,540,944. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BYD traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.92. The company had a trading volume of 670,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,004. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.78. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73.

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 given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.