Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 1,120 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,811 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,480 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter worth about $200,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after purchasing an additional 17,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $61.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $80.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $72.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 11.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last three months. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BYD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.