Aviva PLC Purchases 457 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,623 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Macquarie upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 9.9 %

LVS opened at $33.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.28. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

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.