Strs Ohio Cuts Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 98,799 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 15,234 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,537,902 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,381,358,000 after purchasing an additional 519,620 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,298,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,338,514,000 after purchasing an additional 330,221 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.9% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,898,679 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $540,242,000 after purchasing an additional 394,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.3% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,772,725 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $388,188,000 after purchasing an additional 149,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $164,559,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $45.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.31. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $43.77 and a fifty-two week high of $65.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.60. The company has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.16.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 34.40% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. Barclays cut 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. StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.47.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.