Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,985 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,658 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,076,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 227,478 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $11,194,000 after acquiring an additional 34,952 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $46.57 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $65.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.17.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.46.

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.