Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,754 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 28,263 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,221,000. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,164,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $38.15 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.61. 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 has a market capitalization of $27.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.76.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.