Appaloosa LP Sells 628,323 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Appaloosa LP decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 900,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 628,323 shares during the period. Las Vegas Sands makes up 0.7% of Appaloosa LP’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Appaloosa LP owned 0.12% of Las Vegas Sands worth $46,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE:LVS opened at $42.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.93 and a 200-day moving average of $47.56. The company has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LVS. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands 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.