Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 334 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,291 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.1 %

LVS opened at $44.00 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a 200-day moving average of $47.18. The company has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands 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.