Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 116,301 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 92.1%, leaving it with only 10,009 shares after selling 116,301 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Las Vegas Sands, with some, like Huntington National Bank and Farther Finance Advisors LLC, increasing their holdings by 64.1% and 133.1% respectively.
• Las Vegas Sands recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.91%, and announced a $2.00 billion stock buyback program to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 92.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,009 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 116,301 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 6.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,524 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 3,015 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 8.2% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 250,232 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $9,666,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. 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. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 37.1% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,398 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 27.6% in the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 219,463 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $8,379,000 after acquiring an additional 47,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.13.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.29. 5,585,751 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,978,896. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.26. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.