Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 36,788 Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 36,788 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,889,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,370,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after buying an additional 357,234 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.69. The firm has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Sell-side 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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.