Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,478 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,952 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $11,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 46,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,716 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,612 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 13,502 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 8,711 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $45.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.59. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $43.77 and a twelve month high of $65.58. The company has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.