Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Position Reduced by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 221,448 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 25,151 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $12,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Randy Hyzak sold 57,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.45, for a total transaction of $3,823,865.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,555,008.55. This trade represents a 51.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock valued at $207,130,199. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $58.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.08 and a 200-day moving average of $58.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

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

About Las Vegas Sands

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.