Achmea Investment Management B.V. Invests $1.04 Million in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,214 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $598,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted 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 worth $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after buying an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE LVS opened at $43.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.59. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.61.

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 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 45.82%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.