Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 93,831 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 61.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,500 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,831 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $13,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,179,000. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after buying an additional 2,698,398 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4,226.7% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,012,800 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $44,067,000 after buying an additional 989,392 shares during the period. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at $31,244,695.68. This represents a 32.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $6,499,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,637.65. The trade was a 87.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,182,053 shares of company stock worth $274,336,399 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $60.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.36 and a 200-day moving average of $58.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.