Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New $218,000 Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,000 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $51.81 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $58.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.20.

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.

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