Raymond James Financial Inc. Grows Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 9.3%, purchasing an additional 100,066 shares to own a total of 1,175,238 shares, valued at approximately $45.4 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported earnings of $0.79 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 15% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a 1.9% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 50.51%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,175,238 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 100,066 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of Las Vegas Sands worth $45,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $730,295,000 after buying an additional 5,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter valued at $183,836,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,249,208 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,593,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,307 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $283,644,000 after purchasing an additional 841,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,652,458 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $136,218,000 after purchasing an additional 793,789 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $1.4920 on Friday, reaching $55.0020. 4,015,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,099,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.23. 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 (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 50.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Argus raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.33.

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.