Legal & General Group Plc Has $78.56 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,805,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 8,255 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $78,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $41,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $6,499,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares in the company, valued at $892,637.65. This trade represents a 87.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total transaction of $41,216,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $126,218,200. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of LVS opened at $67.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $68.15. The firm has a market cap of $45.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.08 and its 200-day moving average is $51.34.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LVS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Argus upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.60.

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.