Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Acquired by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the quarter. Las Vegas Sands comprises approximately 10.9% of ARGA Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP owned 0.90% of Las Vegas Sands worth $333,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of LVS stock traded down $1.02 on Wednesday, reaching $43.51. The company had a trading volume of 8,819,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,780,708. The stock has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.56 and a 200-day moving average of $46.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 43.76%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LVS. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.58.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.