Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $74.12 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 401% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.14 million shares valued at about $74.1 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% from a year earlier.
• The company also paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend and has drawn mostly positive analyst attention, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $67.91.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 401.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,138,717 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 911,439 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.17% of Las Vegas Sands worth $74,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 35,566 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $57,150,000 after purchasing an additional 846,155 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 148,196 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $9,646,000 after purchasing an additional 79,641 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $50.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $52.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.55. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.91.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

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