Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,018,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 51,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $54,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $12,225,000 after purchasing an additional 177,695 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 7.1% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 644,286 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,033,000 after buying an additional 42,598 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 124.4% in the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,003,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,679,000 after buying an additional 556,440 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,143,000. Finally, National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,262,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $54.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.96. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,077,991 shares of company stock valued at $138,756,613 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LVS. Citigroup raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.