World Equity Group Inc. Lowers Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

World Equity Group Inc. decreased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 66.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,472 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 17,130 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,021,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 55.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $709,300,000 after buying an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LVS shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Four 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. According to 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 Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $41.75 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.86. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

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.

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