Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Bought by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1,058.3% in Q4 to 67,867 shares, worth about $4.42 million after buying an extra 62,008 shares.
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares on March 17 at an average price of $54.75 for roughly $3.29 million, trimming his holding by 10.52% to 511,942 shares.
• Las Vegas Sands beat quarterly estimates with $0.85 EPS and $3.65 billion revenue (up 26% YoY), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 ($1.20 annualized), and holds a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with a $67.92 price target.

Patton Fund Management Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 1,058.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,867 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 62,008 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $54.76 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $55.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.86. The stock has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $31.57 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The business's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. HSBC raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.92.

Las Vegas Sands 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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