South Dakota Investment Council Has $4.62 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,854 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:LVS opened at $44.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.18.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share 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 given 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 dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

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.