Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,771 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 57,585 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in 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 worth $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in 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. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,221,000. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth approximately $24,370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $42.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market cap of $30.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands 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.