California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 10,305 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 641,915 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 10,305 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $31,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. CNB Bank bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 150.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 681 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 617.3% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 911 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $45.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $43.77 and a 12 month high of $65.58. The firm has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 42.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.46.

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.