Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Acquired by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,219 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LVS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264,043 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,275,127 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $554,849,000 after buying an additional 680,575 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $266,538,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,356,682 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $263,602,000 after acquiring an additional 633,028 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,308,987 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $171,075,000 after acquiring an additional 198,413 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following 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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.45. The stock had a trading volume of 4,932,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,257,287. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $43.77 and a 1-year high of $65.58. The stock has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 42.34%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.