Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 793,789 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,652,458 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 793,789 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.37% of Las Vegas Sands worth $136,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.2 %

LVS stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.76. 1,663,768 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,042,066. The company has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $38.79 and its 200-day moving average is $45.57. 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 Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Barclays reduced 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four 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 has an average 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.