First Trust Advisors LP Sells 530,234 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 47.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530,234 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $51,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 219.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 162.1% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $2,545,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,930,447 shares in the company, valued at $163,779,123.48. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total value of $2,054,114.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,454 shares of company stock worth $6,231,827. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $82.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.54. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.94 and a 52-week high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.33. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 45.05% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BYD. UBS Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price target on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.58.

Boyd Gaming Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.