Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Las Vegas Sands, buying 130,263 shares valued at about $8.48 million.
• Institutional interest in LVS remains strong, with major investors like Arrowstreet Capital and Bank of New York Mellon increasing holdings, while hedge funds and institutions now own 39.16% of the company.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 130,263 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $8,479,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,186,257 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $532,843,000 after buying an additional 3,018,704 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $513,757,000 after buying an additional 1,246,206 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $364,892,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $293,371,000 after buying an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,723,494 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $200,335,000 after buying an additional 187,389 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.2%

LVS opened at $50.70 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $40.03 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.40.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Las Vegas Sands 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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