Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 814 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,627 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 814 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $481,873,000 after buying an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $443,086,000 after buying an additional 80,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company 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, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $32.74 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The stock has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Las Vegas Sands 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.