IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,935 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,487 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 18.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,005 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 6,057 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 69.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,101 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $21,907,000 after buying an additional 232,091 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,101,190 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $119,799,000 after buying an additional 12,593 shares during the period. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $52.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.84. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $58.05.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.47.

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.