Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Mcdonald Partners LLC

Mcdonald Partners LLC lowered its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,024 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $133,876,000 after purchasing an additional 57,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after purchasing an additional 357,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.8 %

LVS stock opened at $43.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.01. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS 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 43.76%. Equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value 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 insiders.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.