Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 148,475 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Las Vegas Sands stake by 77.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 148,475 shares and leaving it with 43,592 shares valued at about $2.84 million.
• Las Vegas Sands has seen mixed but mostly positive analyst sentiment, with several firms reiterating or raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $67.91.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 77.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,592 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 148,475 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1,208.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 654 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC raised 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 note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.91.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

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

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $51.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.64. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $40.03 and a one year 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

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

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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