Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Sells 20,000 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Key Points

• Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC cut its Las Vegas Sands stake by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,000 shares and leaving it with 192,500 shares valued at about $12.53 million.
• Las Vegas Sands reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.91 versus $0.76 expected and revenue of $3.59 billion, up 25.3% year over year.
• The company recently paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend and has drawn mostly positive analyst sentiment, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $68.28.

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,500 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $12,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% during the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,945 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $50.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.39. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $40.03 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The company has a market capitalization of $33.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Seaport Research Partners cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.28.

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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