GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3,318.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 89,042 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 86,437 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,404 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 204.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 142,509 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 95,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LVS traded up $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $41.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,884,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,051,558. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.82 and a 200-day moving average of $43.46.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.