UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,141,644 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 482,217 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.43% of Las Vegas Sands worth $161,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of LVS stock opened at $40.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.30. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG 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.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

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.

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