Westpac Banking Corp Has $37,000 Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 730 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,907 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $55,221,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of LVS opened at $33.38 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.74 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.88 and a 200 day moving average of $47.66. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.