Insider Selling: Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) CEO Sells 734,511 Shares of Stock

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) CEO Robert Goldstein sold 734,511 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $49,065,334.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of LVS traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.39. 4,597,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,601,676. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.