Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,348 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $8,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the second quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 61,993 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 21.4% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,401 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 56.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,351,479.68. This represents a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.12.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $59.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The firm has a market cap of $40.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.