The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $107.41 Million Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,325,334 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $107,407,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% during 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. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1,208.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 654 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

LVS stock opened at $47.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.23. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $44.21 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 133.90% and a net margin of 12.59%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.69%.

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.