Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,852 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $25,163,000 after buying an additional 225,510 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,111 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 38,981 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 15,727 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $52.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.40. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LVS. Macquarie lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.92.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.