Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 62,515 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 92.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,352 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 62,515 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. Seaport Research Partners lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.6%

LVS opened at $46.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.82. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $43.20 and a twelve month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.