Deutsche Bank AG Trims Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,346,444 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 78,198 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.19% of Las Vegas Sands worth $69,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted 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 valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 11,602 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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 reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.43. 3,978,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,115,037. The stock has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $2.86 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

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.