The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $107.41 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,325,334 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 712,359 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $107,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4,502.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,512,696 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,086,051,000 after purchasing an additional 23,001,830 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $592,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279,390 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $174,796,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $42.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.83. 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 1 year low of $42.11 and a 1 year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 46.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) develops and operates integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and meeting facilities, dining, retail, entertainment and other leisure offerings. The company primarily serves international tourism, business travel and premium gaming markets.

Las Vegas Sands’ principal properties are Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and a portfolio of integrated resorts in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao.