American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 859,591 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 185,630 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Las Vegas Sands worth $46,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $12,225,000 after acquiring an additional 177,695 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 7.1% in the 2nd 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. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake 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 period. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $2,143,000. Finally, National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $1,262,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:LVS opened at $55.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned 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 price target of $68.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,477,991 shares of company stock worth $165,323,554 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.