Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $93.78 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,825,909 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 1,620,715 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Las Vegas Sands worth $93,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LVS shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.05. 2,799,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,098,543. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.57 and a 200 day moving average of $44.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management 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.