Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Osborne Partners cut its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 39.0% in Q4, selling 149,129 shares and leaving it with 233,213 shares valued at about $15.18 million.
• Las Vegas Sands beat expectations with Q4 EPS of $0.85 (vs. $0.77 est.) and revenue of $3.65B (up 26% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 ($1.20 annualized, ~2.1% yield).
• Insider and institutional activity: CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares (a 10.52% reduction), while several large institutions greatly increased positions, leaving roughly 39% of the stock held by hedge funds/institutions and a consensus analyst target around $67.84 ("Moderate Buy").

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,213 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 149,129 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $15,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $151,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,630 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4,504.2% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,028,808 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $55,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 616.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,141,426 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $74,295,000 after purchasing an additional 982,011 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $57.22 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $32.20 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Seaport Research Partners decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $61.00 target price (down from $72.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $64.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.84.

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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