American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 232,091 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 69.3%, owning 567,101 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million after acquiring an additional 232,091 shares in Q1.
• Analysts have mixed views on Las Vegas Sands, with price targets ranging from $50.00 to $58.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Las Vegas Sands reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.79, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $3.18 billion—a 15% increase year-over-year.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 69.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567,101 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 232,091 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $21,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 430.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,730 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 674.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 349,667 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $17,959,000 after purchasing an additional 304,488 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,652,458 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $136,218,000 after buying an additional 793,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,773 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $57.53. 1,623,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,588,533. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $57.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.51.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

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.