Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 952 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,174 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 952 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after acquiring an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their price target on 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 reduced their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:LVS opened at $41.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.80.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.38%. 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.