Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Purchased by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 116.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its position to 148,196 shares worth about $9.65 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.76 consensus and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable May 13, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $68.28.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 116.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,196 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 79,641 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,723,494 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $200,335,000 after purchasing an additional 187,389 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $151,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,630 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $51.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $39.29 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.28.

About Las Vegas Sands

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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