Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,144,012 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 178,907 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Las Vegas Sands worth $58,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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 last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of LVS stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.76. 2,029,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,043,401. The stock has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $38.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.57. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.