Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Has $1.03 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lowered its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,002 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,187 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 441,610 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $22,681,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 55,848 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,868,000 after buying an additional 6,790 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $43.67 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

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.