Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 466,330 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 934,927 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 466,330 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.14% of Las Vegas Sands worth $60,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,801 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $125,000. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,434 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LVS. Seaport Research Partners lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.