Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 57,817 Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Man Group plc bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 57,817 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,969,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of LVS traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,418,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,074,192. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 authorized 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 a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.