World Equity Group Inc. Sells 17,130 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

World Equity Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 66.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,472 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 17,130 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $598,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,791,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,961,317. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 44.91% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Las Vegas Sands's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.