Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 80,271 Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 80,271 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,123,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,311,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 11,602 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of LVS stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.13. The company had a trading volume of 6,849,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,163,521. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.32 and a 200 day moving average of $43.77. The firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.