Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management sharply reduced its Las Vegas Sands stake in the fourth quarter, selling 196,900 shares and cutting its position by 71.6% to 78,000 shares worth about $5.1 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus estimates of $0.76 and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company also paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.3% annual yield, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.28.

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 78,000 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 196,900 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 8,132 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 91.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at about $414,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 70.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,595 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 7,243 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of LVS opened at $51.30 on Thursday. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $39.29 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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