Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Boyd Gaming stake by 26.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.36 million shares worth about $115.5 million, or roughly 1.73% of the company.
• Insider selling picked up recently, with Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson and CEO Keith Smith selling shares in separate transactions; insiders sold 200,000 shares over the last three months.
• Boyd Gaming announced a $500 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, even as its latest quarterly earnings missed analyst expectations on both EPS and revenue.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,355,209 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 285,719 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.73% of Boyd Gaming worth $115,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,478,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,784,000 after purchasing an additional 153,462 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,221,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 173,868 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 109.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,576,000 after purchasing an additional 342,575 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company's stock worth $52,099,000 after acquiring an additional 405,340 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 600,065 shares of the company's stock worth $51,876,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 996,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.7%

BYD opened at $87.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.89. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1 year low of $73.00 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming 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.

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