Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 721,783 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 24,211 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Las Vegas Sands worth $27,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $47.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,373,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,884,491. The stock has a market cap of $33.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management 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.