Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 55,659 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,090,979 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 55,659 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.43% of Las Vegas Sands worth $158,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $32.11 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $31.42 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

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.