Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 105,294 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 702,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,294 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $45,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third 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 last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.1 %

BYD opened at $73.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BYD shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.64.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 438,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,330,269.45. This trade represents a 4.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

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.