Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases 35,566 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings boosted its Las Vegas Sands stake by 411.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 35,566 additional shares to bring its total to 44,208 shares worth about $2.88 million.
• Las Vegas Sands beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.91 versus the expected $0.76 and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $68.28.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 411.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,208 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 35,566 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Merrithew & Thorsten Inc bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,295 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE LVS opened at $52.07 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $54.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.28. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $39.29 and a one year high of $70.45.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LVS. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.28.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

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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