Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Capital Research Global Investors

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors cut its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 30.9% in Q3, selling 15,252,311 shares and ending the quarter with 34,041,456 shares (~5.03%) valued at about $1.831 billion.
• Major insiders have been selling: Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares and CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares, with insiders disposing of 2,477,991 shares worth $165.3 million in the last 90 days (insiders now own 1.20%).
• Las Vegas Sands reported a beat for the quarter (EPS $0.85 vs. $0.77 estimate; revenue $3.65B, +26% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~2.2% yield).

Capital Research Global Investors cut its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,041,456 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 15,252,311 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 5.03% of Las Vegas Sands worth $1,831,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,477,991 shares of company stock worth $165,323,554 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS opened at $53.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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 was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.