South Dakota Investment Council Has $3.26 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,854 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 21.4% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,401 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 31.3% in the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 4.0%

LVS stock opened at $61.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $61.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 45.25%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.05, for a total transaction of $11,810,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $70,822,000 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.13.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.