Legal & General Group Plc Sells 23,209 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,209 shares and ending with 1,798,911 shares valued at about $117.1 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.91 EPS versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30, equal to an annualized yield of 2.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $68.28.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,798,911 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 23,209 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.27% of Las Vegas Sands worth $117,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% during the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,945 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $51.04 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $40.03 and a one year high of $70.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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 $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LVS. Mizuho increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.28.

Las Vegas Sands 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.

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