Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 36,432 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 213.4% in Q4, acquiring 36,432 shares to hold 53,503 shares worth $3.48 million.
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares on March 17 at an average of $54.75 for about $3.29 million, reducing his position by 10.52% to 511,942 shares (≈$28.03M).
• Las Vegas Sands beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.85 (vs. $0.77) and revenue of $3.65B (up 26% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 ($1.20 annual, ~2.1% yield).

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 213.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,503 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 36,432 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,723,494 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $200,335,000 after purchasing an additional 187,389 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $151,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,630 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,822,120 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $98,012,000 after purchasing an additional 16,674 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on LVS shares. Zacks Research downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Macquarie Infrastructure restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.84.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $57.66 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.20 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $55.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.92. The company has a market capitalization of $38.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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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