Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.64 Billion Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Vanguard reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.9% in Q4 to 40,565,535 shares (about 6.0% of the company), valued at roughly $2.64 billion.
• CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares at an average price of $54.75 (≈$3.29 million) on March 17, trimming his ownership by 10.52%; company insiders now hold about 0.55% of LVS.
• Las Vegas Sands beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $0.91 (vs. $0.76) and revenue of $3.59B (vs. $3.32B), announced a $0.30 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.20, ~2.2% yield), and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $68.28.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,565,535 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 1,661,632 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.00% of Las Vegas Sands worth $2,640,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $54.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.83 and its 200 day moving average is $59.06.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands NYSE: LVS is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company's operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company's portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.

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