Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 1,006,463 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4,504.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,028,808 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,006,463 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $55,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,460,896 shares of company stock valued at $164,177,676. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $54.25 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. HSBC boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.