Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 79,907 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,298,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 27.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 79.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,214 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 13,860 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth about $520,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $59.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.71. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued 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. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.05.

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.