Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires New Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,082 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after acquiring an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $41.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.80. The company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.