Madison Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 71.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 196,900 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LVS. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $51.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.25. The stock has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $39.29 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

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.