Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $15.36 Million Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lowered its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 397,484 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 14,662 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Las Vegas Sands worth $15,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LVS. RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,773 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 35,623 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 4.3%

LVS stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,294,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,562,129. The company has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average price is $44.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.12. 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 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 51.16% and a net margin of 12.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.50.

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.