Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 1,362 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,147 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after buying an additional 160,711 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,311,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 11,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $32.58 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.29. The firm has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

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%. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Macquarie increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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 dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.08.

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.