Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $998,000 Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 38.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,929 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 14,276 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,913,304 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $73,910,000 after purchasing an additional 30,404 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter valued at about $153,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 560.4% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 70,685 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,731,000 after buying an additional 59,982 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 19,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth about $359,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $66.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $14,712,937.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.