Patrick Dumont Sells 60,165 Shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Stock

Key Points

• Patrick Dumont, CEO, sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands on March 17 at an average price of $54.75 for about $3.29M, reducing his holding by 10.52% to 511,942 shares (≈$28.03M).
• Las Vegas Sands beat expectations for the quarter ( $0.85 EPS vs. $0.77 est.; $3.65B revenue, up 26% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 ($1.20 annualized, ~2.2% yield).

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.13. 3,318,429 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,633,227. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $57.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.85. The stock has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.Las Vegas Sands's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 8.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,251 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 29,032 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 12,591 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 83,184 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $3,619,000 after purchasing an additional 4,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 10.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,093 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seaport Research Partners cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.55.

About Las Vegas Sands

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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