Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 13,461 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 91.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,160 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 14,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD stock traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $73.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 948,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,208. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $80.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $68.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.92.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Boyd Gaming from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.67.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.