Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,882,900 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 166,739 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.26% of Las Vegas Sands worth $96,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.80. 5,363,727 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,126,849. The company has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.