Bamco Inc. NY Acquires 46,090 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,627,165 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 46,090 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned about 0.22% of Las Vegas Sands worth $83,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE LVS traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.57. 6,677,646 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,084,422. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.16. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.61. 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 has a market cap of $27.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the casino operator to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Macquarie cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

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.