Westpac Banking Corp Sells 2,907 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 730 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,907 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $33.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.66. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.74 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change 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 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

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.