392,600 Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Purchased by Madison Investment Advisors LLC

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 392,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $20,164,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $55,221,000. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $24,370,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Macquarie lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $42.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.