Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Makes New $299,000 Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,750 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $730,295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $283,644,000 after acquiring an additional 841,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price objective on 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.31.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.5%

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,021,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,863,195. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

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

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.