Rakuten Securities Inc. Invests $65,000 in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,319 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,537,902 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,381,358,000 after purchasing an additional 519,620 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,298,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,338,514,000 after buying an additional 330,221 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,898,679 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $540,242,000 after buying an additional 394,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,772,725 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $388,188,000 after buying an additional 149,588 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $164,559,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $50.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.62. The company has a market capitalization of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.31. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $43.77 and a one year high of $65.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 34.40% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

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 owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.77.

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.