Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 28,680 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 66.9% in 4Q, purchasing 28,680 shares to hold 71,534 shares worth about $4.66 million.
• Las Vegas Sands beat quarterly estimates with $0.85 EPS versus $0.77 expected and $3.65 billion in revenue (up 26% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~2.1% yield).
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares on March 17 at an average $54.75 for roughly $3.29 million, reducing his holding by about 10.5%.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 66.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,534 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 28,680 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $57.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.15 and its 200 day moving average is $58.98. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $70.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The firm's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.18 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.84.

About Las Vegas Sands

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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