Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,040,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 62,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $53,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of LVS opened at $43.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.