Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital boosted its Las Vegas Sands stake by 58.4% in Q4, ending with 8.19 million shares worth about $532.8 million.
• Las Vegas Sands beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share ($1.20 annualized), while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $67.91.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 58.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,186,257 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 3,018,704 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 1.22% of Las Vegas Sands worth $532,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,087 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $1,443,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 399,974 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $26,042,000 after purchasing an additional 78,206 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 93,112 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $6,061,000 after purchasing an additional 15,333 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,985 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.2%

LVS stock opened at $50.70 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $52.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $40.03 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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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