California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 21,279 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 607,098 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 21,279 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $31,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.08. 5,296,224 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,160,778. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.77.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.