Townsquare Capital LLC Takes $218,000 Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,245 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $709,300,000 after buying an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $443,086,000 after purchasing an additional 80,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 4.5 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $34.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.21. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

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 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%. Analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.67.

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.