Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 179,771 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 57,585 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in 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. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% in 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. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LVS. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Macquarie increased their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE LVS opened at $42.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $30.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 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 research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.