Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 11,102 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 104,020 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 11,102 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $6,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.28.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LVS opened at $50.83 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $33.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

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.