Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Position Raised by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 227,478 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 34,952 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $11,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% in the first quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.3% during the second quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,842 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $45.46 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.59. The stock has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.16. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 41.81% and a net margin of 13.99%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.