D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 354 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,166 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $43.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.24. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

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.