National Pension Service Purchases 33,046 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 140.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 33,046 shares and bringing its total holding to 56,510 shares worth about $3.68 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to LVS, and 39.16% of the stock is now owned by institutions, signaling broad professional interest in the casino operator.
• Las Vegas Sands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.76 estimate and revenue of $3.59 billion, while analysts maintain an overall Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $68.28.

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 140.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,510 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 33,046 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $12,225,000 after purchasing an additional 177,695 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $2,051,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 35,566 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $57,150,000 after purchasing an additional 846,155 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $53.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.13 and a 200-day moving average of $58.24. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 44.44%.

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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