Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 64,949 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 28.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,949 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $10,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,611,000 after purchasing an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 167,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,831,000 after purchasing an additional 32,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 3.2% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BYD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.4 %

BYD opened at $72.09 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.61. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $2,164,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,101,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,451,724.30. This represents a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % 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 ninety days. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Boyd Gaming

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.