20,900 Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Acquired by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,900 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,218,581 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $730,295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,095 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth about $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of LVS traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,920,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,164,250. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.30 and its 200 day moving average is $43.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

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.