Sei Investments Co. Sells 104,862 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,028 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 104,862 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $19,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted 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 valued at $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $133,876,000 after acquiring an additional 57,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock opened at $40.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. 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. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.