State of Alaska Department of Revenue Decreases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,680 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,380 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $133,876,000 after purchasing an additional 57,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after purchasing an additional 357,234 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.0 %

LVS stock opened at $41.26 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.75 and its 200 day moving average is $46.90. The company has a market capitalization of $29.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued 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 return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.