Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 23.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 426,724 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 81,114 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $22,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $513,757,000 after buying an additional 1,246,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $45.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $44.22 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.68.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.31.

Las Vegas Sands 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.