National Pension Service Makes New Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,464 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,262,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,418 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,576 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 13,395 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,904 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.61.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $56.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.45 and its 200 day moving average is $58.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total value of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,542,053 shares of company stock valued at $236,327,199. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.