Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Has $28.32 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 551,361 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 125,142 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $28,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 115,803 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $6,053,000 after buying an additional 11,261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $27,590,000 after acquiring an additional 136,859 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 206.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 75,456 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,875,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1%

Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,473,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,118,155. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie lowered their target price 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, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

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.