Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 38.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,389 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $2,015,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,181 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 876,500 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,017,000 after purchasing an additional 73,511 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,396 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $45.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.71. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 43.76%. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.58.

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.