Capital Research Global Investors Has $1.06 Billion Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors cut its Las Vegas Sands stake by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held 16.2 million shares worth about $1.06 billion.
• 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% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $67.91.

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,232,863 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 17,808,593 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 2.42% of Las Vegas Sands worth $1,056,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1,208.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 654 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $50.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.87. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. HSBC upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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