Natixis Takes $5.62 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 109,349 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,616,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during 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 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $35.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,977,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,058,272. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

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.