Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,350 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 179,000 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Las Vegas Sands worth $22,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.5%

LVS opened at $53.84 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.55.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,477,991 shares of company stock valued at $165,323,554 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.