Bleakley Financial Group LLC Lowers Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 86.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,409 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 70,434 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after buying an additional 5,039,072 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,330,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $275,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,941 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $502,307,000 after buying an additional 1,536,754 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,550,000. Finally, Charles Lim Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 178.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 1,600,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $70,800,000 after buying an additional 1,025,000 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Argus lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $51.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

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.