Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 8,842 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 300,239 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 8,842 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $15,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LVS. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE LVS traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.06. 3,144,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,142,727. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $37.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.