Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 21,487 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 62.1%, now holding only 13,117 shares valued at $507,000 after selling over 21,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions, with Twin Tree Management LP increasing its stake by 116.1%, now owning 23,182 shares valued at nearly $896,000.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments towards LVS shares; UBS raised its target price from $55 to $65 with a "neutral" rating, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "buy" to "hold."

Nomura Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 62.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,117 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 21,487 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.8% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,686 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,870 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 40,250 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,848 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 64,615 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,319,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.41. 4,945,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,156,968. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $58.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.38.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.00.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.