Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,825,909 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,620,715 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Las Vegas Sands worth $93,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during 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 lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during 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. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during 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. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $42.43 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Macquarie decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.