National Pension Service Sells 44,050 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 591,692 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 44,050 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $30,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $44.74 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.98 and its 200 day moving average is $47.31. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.