Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,197 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 42,346 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,077,991 shares of company stock valued at $138,756,613 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $54.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.55.

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.