Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,038 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 796 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $318,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 204.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 142,509 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 95,753 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,404 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.5 %

LVS opened at $44.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.26.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.