SageView Advisory Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 4,441 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.3 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $31.91 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.76. The stock has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year 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) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

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.