Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 103,334 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 334% compared to the typical volume of 23,794 call options.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 652,220 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $29,898,000 after purchasing an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 698,686 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $34,264,000 after acquiring an additional 451,710 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 672,905 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $33,114,000 after purchasing an additional 225,351 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 15.6% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,195 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $3,076,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.47.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS traded down $0.42 on Friday, reaching $45.46. The company had a trading volume of 7,963,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,655,116. Las Vegas Sands has a 1 year low of $43.77 and a 1 year high of $65.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 41.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands's quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.