UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Sells 596,313 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 19%, owning approximately $98.33 million in shares after the sale.
• Las Vegas Sands recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79, exceeding estimates by $0.26, with a revenue of $3.18 billion compared to a $2.83 billion estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 50.51%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lessened its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 19.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,545,331 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 596,313 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Las Vegas Sands worth $98,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 15,490 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares during the last quarter. Continental Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Continental Advisors LLC now owns 95,325 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $282,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $301,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.47.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.9%

Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.20. 4,335,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,642,526. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $58.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day moving average price is $53.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 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.