Miller Global Investments LLC Invests $731,000 in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,225 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $54.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.82. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands 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.