New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Trims Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,850 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted 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 valued at $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.38 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.80 and a 200-day moving average of $46.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

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

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.