Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Trims Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd trimmed its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,335 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 7,233 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 150.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 681 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. CNB Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 617.3% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 911 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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, April 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $46.01 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $34.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued 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 42.34%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 38.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.