VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires Shares of 384,600 Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 384,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,765,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 6,930 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.9% in the second quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 2,012 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% in the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $44.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.36 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group set a $52.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

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.