Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 166,739 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,882,900 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 166,739 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $96,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 10.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 115,803 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $6,053,000 after acquiring an additional 11,261 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 206.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 75,456 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $39.70 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.