Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,662 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 5,841 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at about $391,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 102.5% in the first quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 211,437 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $8,168,000 after purchasing an additional 107,033 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 40,250 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Five investment 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.11. 5,912,155 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,936,007. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.00 and its 200-day moving average is $42.62. The firm has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.