Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 113.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 385,354 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,564 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands worth $19,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.8 %

LVS stock opened at $43.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.