Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $1.49 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 18.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,005 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 6,057 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.15.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.10. 4,013,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,875,425. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.21. 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 Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally 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.