Avestar Capital LLC Buys Shares of 6,193 Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,193 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.8 %

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results 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 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LVS. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.