Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 583,835 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 22,920 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $22,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,095 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $443,086,000 after purchasing an additional 80,709 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,652,411 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $290,308,000 after purchasing an additional 24,989 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,017,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,850,466. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The company has a market cap of $35.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.25.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released 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). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LVS. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.31.

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.