Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys 11,197 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 55.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,411 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LVS. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE LVS traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.55. The stock had a trading volume of 5,058,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,872,350. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.38. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

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.