New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 875,052 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 79,675 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Las Vegas Sands worth $33,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $479,610,000 after purchasing an additional 752,944 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $443,086,000 after purchasing an additional 80,709 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $50.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.09. The company has a market cap of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. 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 (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during 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 company's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.31.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.

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