Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,709 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Golden Entertainment were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GDEN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,490,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,085,000 after acquiring an additional 57,285 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Golden Entertainment by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,293,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,864,000 after purchasing an additional 271,782 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 673,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,288,000 after purchasing an additional 27,508 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 587,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,664,000 after purchasing an additional 24,264 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 384,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,158,000 after purchasing an additional 19,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.73% of the company’s stock.

Golden Entertainment Price Performance

NASDAQ GDEN opened at $25.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $675.68 million, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 1.99. Golden Entertainment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.66 and a 52-week high of $35.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.73.

Golden Entertainment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on GDEN shares. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities reduced their target price on shares of Golden Entertainment from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.86.

About Golden Entertainment

Golden Entertainment, Inc owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations.