Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 90.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,847 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 54,677 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LVS. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after buying an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $598,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.81. 4,453,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,124,935. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.05. The firm has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.