Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Stock Position Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,069,500 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.16% of Las Vegas Sands worth $46,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $65.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average of $51.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $67.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 45.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total value of $41,216,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $6,499,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,637.65. The trade was a 87.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,100,000 shares of company stock worth $126,218,200 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.60.

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.