Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases 49,458 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 61.6%, owning 129,729 shares valued at approximately $5.01 million.
• The company's stock recently reported a 3.2% increase, with earnings of $0.79 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $0.53.
• Las Vegas Sands has initiated a share buyback program worth $2.00 billion, indicating confidence in its stock value amidst a dividend yield of 1.91%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 61.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,729 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 49,458 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,021,205,000 after buying an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after buying an additional 5,088,095 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,342,577 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $283,644,000 after buying an additional 841,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Argus upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Macquarie upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.67.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,118,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,856,050. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 51.16%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.