Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MGM Resorts International $MGM

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in MGM Resorts International by 9.9%, acquiring an additional 23,428 shares to hold a total of 260,913 shares worth approximately $7.73 million.
• MGM Resorts has initiated a $2 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence from the company's leadership in its stock's valuation.
• The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the latest quarter, beating consensus estimates, and had revenue growth of 1.8% year-over-year.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,913 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,428 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of MGM Resorts International worth $7,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MGM. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in MGM Resorts International in the 1st quarter worth about $248,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of MGM Resorts International in the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in MGM Resorts International by 5.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 119,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,553,000 after acquiring an additional 6,027 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in MGM Resorts International by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,108 shares of the company's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in MGM Resorts International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,618,000. 68.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MGM Resorts International news, Director Keith A. Meister sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.09, for a total value of $1,925,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,627,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,585,769.02. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MGM Resorts International Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:MGM traded up $0.1140 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.4240. 818,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,314,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.18. MGM Resorts International has a 12-month low of $25.30 and a 12-month high of $42.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.59.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. MGM Resorts International had a return on equity of 19.39% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MGM Resorts International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

MGM Resorts International announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 22.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MGM shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MGM Resorts International in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on MGM Resorts International from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MGM Resorts International in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on MGM Resorts International from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MGM Resorts International from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.72.

MGM Resorts International Company Profile

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casino, hotel, and entertainment resorts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Las Vegas Strip Resorts, Regional Operations, and MGM China. Its casino resorts offer gaming, hotel, convention, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities.