Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $35.30 Million Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 656,254 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,968 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Las Vegas Sands worth $35,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $430,863,000 after acquiring an additional 459,821 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $382,294,000 after acquiring an additional 31,153 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,179,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 116.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,498 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $74,272,000 after purchasing an additional 922,738 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,630,946 shares of company stock worth $175,735,901. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of LVS opened at $56.67 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.