PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 29,000 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,489,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,181 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,389 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,373 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 23,940 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 81,751 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.11. 7,920,537 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,164,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.30 and a 200 day moving average of $43.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

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.