Swiss National Bank Sells 62,700 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,040,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 62,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.14% of Las Vegas Sands worth $53,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Macquarie upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.59. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.