Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,192,285 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,544 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $61,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $55,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Finally, Macquarie raised 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $33.38 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.66. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.74 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 3.00%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.