Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 23,843 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,006 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 23,843 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $12,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $33.38 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $31.54 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average of $47.71.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase 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 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie upped their price target 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 dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

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.