Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Las Vegas Sands stake by 2.4%, selling 74,206 shares and retaining 3.04 million shares valued at approximately $163.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 39.16% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $61.88, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Las Vegas Sands reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.59 in EPS and $3.15 billion in revenue. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,037,693 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 74,206 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.46% of Las Vegas Sands worth $163,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased 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 in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 91.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at $414,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,595 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 7,243 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of LVS opened at $48.26 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $44.21 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average is $48.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.69%.

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.

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.