Versor Investments LP Makes New $1.85 Million Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP opened a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter, buying 28,409 shares worth about $1.85 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased exposure to LVS, and 39.16% of the stock is now held by institutions. CEO Patrick Dumont also sold 60,165 shares in March, trimming his stake by about 10.5%.
• Las Vegas Sands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion versus $3.32 billion expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable May 13.

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 28,409 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,849,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $277,963,000 after buying an additional 4,154,753 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $293,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $151,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4,504.2% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,028,808 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $55,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,463 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.28.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $52.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.28. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $39.29 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The stock has a market cap of $34.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders 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 2.3%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

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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