HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 50.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,974 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 34,360 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $42.88 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $42.11 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.02.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. NYSE: LVS develops and operates integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and meeting facilities, dining, retail, entertainment and other leisure offerings. The company primarily serves international tourism, business travel and premium gaming markets.

Las Vegas Sands' principal properties are Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and a portfolio of integrated resorts in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao.

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