Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Boyd Gaming stake by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 91,657 shares valued at about $7.8 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Keith Smith and Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson both selling shares in recent transactions; insiders sold 200,000 shares worth about $17.0 million over the last 90 days.
• Boyd Gaming reported mixed results, missing quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, even as the board authorized a $500 million share repurchase program and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,657 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,178 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.12% of Boyd Gaming worth $7,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company's stock worth $19,868,000 after purchasing an additional 111,815 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,701,000 after buying an additional 174,214 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,005,000 after buying an additional 55,923 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,313,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987. 22.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BYD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $87.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.03 and a 200-day moving average of $83.89. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $73.00 and a one year high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation NYSE: BYD is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming's offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.