Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 252 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 761 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $39,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.3 %

LVS stock opened at $44.74 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

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.