Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 22.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,739 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 8,044 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of LVS opened at $49.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $58.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.20.

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.