Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 2,072,078 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 99.0%, selling over 2 million shares in the first quarter, leaving them with only 20,429 shares valued at approximately $789,000.
• Las Vegas Sands recently reported $3.18 billion in revenue for the quarter, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.35 billion, and its quarterly earnings per share were $0.79, surpassing the expected $0.53.
• The company announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 5th, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 99.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,429 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 2,072,078 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 31,411 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,005 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 6,057 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,311,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,088,597 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $158,630,000 after buying an additional 339,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,192,285 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $61,236,000 after buying an additional 10,544 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of LVS traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.39. 1,427,985 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,789,222. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.34. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The company has a market cap of $35.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.13.

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.