Howard Capital Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Howard Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 142,569 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,391,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,159,570 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $700,221,000 after buying an additional 919,452 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,582,962 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $462,450,000 after buying an additional 396,705 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 36.9% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,617,148 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $213,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,943 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $174,796,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,780,266 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $203,616,000 after acquiring an additional 90,690 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.9%

LVS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.96. 8,329,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,048,983. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day moving average is $47.23. The company has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $35.28 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 46.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.69.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining and entertainment venues. The company’s properties are designed to serve leisure travelers, business visitors and convention groups.

Las Vegas Sands operates major integrated resorts in Macau, including The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Londoner Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao. In Singapore, it operates Marina Bay Sands, a large resort featuring hotel accommodations, gaming, shopping, dining, entertainment and convention facilities.