Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 22,274 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 9.0% in the first quarter, holding 226,389 shares worth approximately $8.75 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.79, exceeding estimates, and demonstrated a 15% year-over-year revenue growth with $3.18 billion in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a yield of 1.8%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,389 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 22,274 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $8,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 18.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,005 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 6,057 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 69.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,101 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $21,907,000 after buying an additional 232,091 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,101,190 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $119,799,000 after buying an additional 12,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at approximately $657,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.71. The stock had a trading volume of 5,133,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,936,431. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.08 and a 200 day moving average of $44.18. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $58.05. The firm has a market cap of $36.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.04.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LVS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

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.