IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $3.73 Million Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,219 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,898,186 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,815,760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264,043 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,275,127 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $554,849,000 after buying an additional 680,575 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $266,538,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,356,682 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $263,602,000 after acquiring an additional 633,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,308,987 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $171,075,000 after acquiring an additional 198,413 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.2 %

LVS traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.45. The stock had a trading volume of 4,932,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,257,287. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.16. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $43.77 and a 1-year high of $65.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LVS. Barclays dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.46.

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.