Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Stake Lowered by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC reduced its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 98.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,791 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 261,931 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $2,311,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 11,602 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,916,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,162,269. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.74. 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 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.