Schroder Investment Management Group Trims Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 926,396 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 537,328 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.13% of Las Vegas Sands worth $46,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the fourth 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. World Equity Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 11,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 50,087 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,572,000 after buying an additional 8,326 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.2 %

LVS opened at $38.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.