Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Grows Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 116.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,196 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,641 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $51.72 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $39.29 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.