Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Bought by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 92.4% in Q4, acquiring an additional 19,375 shares to hold 40,337 shares worth $2.63M, with institutional ownership at about 39.16%.
• Las Vegas Sands reported a quarterly beat with EPS $0.85 vs. $0.77 expected and revenue of $3.65B (vs. $3.33B), up 26% year-over-year.
• Analysts are mostly bullish—company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $68.55—and the firm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~2.3% yield).

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 92.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,337 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 19,375 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LVS. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $51.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.13 and a 200-day moving average of $58.76. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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