Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Takes $39,000 Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 800 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Charles Lim Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 296.2% during the third quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 2,575,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $118,038,000 after buying an additional 1,925,000 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,752,000. PointState Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 81.9% in the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 1,927,404 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $88,352,000 after purchasing an additional 868,005 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $33,620,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 359.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 806,403 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,966,000 after purchasing an additional 630,747 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.2 %

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.01. 7,964,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,738,979. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.69. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $43.77 and a one year high of $65.58. The company has a market cap of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

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.