Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys New Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,650 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LVS. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 124.4% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,003,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,679,000 after purchasing an additional 556,440 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.1% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 644,286 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,033,000 after acquiring an additional 42,598 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,143,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 78.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 102,576 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 44,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $57.83 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.47. The stock has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seaport Research Partners dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.61.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CFO Randy Hyzak sold 57,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.45, for a total value of $3,823,865.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,555,008.55. This represents a 51.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,082,053 shares of company stock valued at $207,130,199 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.