Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp decreased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,802 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,252 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.6%

LVS stock opened at $49.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.03.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.31.

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.