UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Decreases Stake in 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 decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 about 0.36% of Las Vegas Sands worth $98,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Argus raised Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.47.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of LVS traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.88. The company had a trading volume of 6,442,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,580,133. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $58.05. The stock has a market cap of $35.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.58. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 55.37% and a net margin of 12.16%.The company's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend 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.