Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $5.52 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. by 7.5%, now owning 142,858 shares valued at $5,519,000.
• Analysts have given Las Vegas Sands a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $57.50.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.91% and plans for a $2 billion stock buyback.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,858 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 11,624 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position 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 valued at $730,295,000 after buying an additional 5,088,095 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,415,492 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $479,610,000 after buying an additional 752,944 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $481,873,000 after buying an additional 2,152,829 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $443,086,000 after buying an additional 80,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of LVS stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.94. 4,665,456 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,956,651. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $45.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.22. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.13.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.