Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 97,048 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 28.5% during the second quarter, owning a total of 438,028 shares valued at approximately $19 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Las Vegas Sands, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.47, as major firms recently raised their target prices for the stock.
• Las Vegas Sands recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 50.51%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,028 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 97,048 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Las Vegas Sands worth $19,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 27.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 $59.47.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $53.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $58.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.00.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were 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 was Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands 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.

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