California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 49,044 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 599,451 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 49,044 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $30,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $39.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.