Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,067 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,482 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 652,220 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $29,898,000 after acquiring an additional 30,500 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,264,000 after acquiring an additional 451,710 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $33,114,000 after buying an additional 225,351 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 15.6% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,195 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $46.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $43.77 and a 1 year high of $65.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.17.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 38.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.