American Century Companies Inc. Has $86.62 Million Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,194,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,103 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $86,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $1,968,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,887 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at $725,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BYD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $69.11 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.83. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming 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.