River Global Investors LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

River Global Investors LLP lessened its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 45.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,934 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 17,246 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 44,223 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $44.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.44. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.