Calamos Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 128.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 387,453 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 218,008 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands worth $19,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth $619,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 72,007 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,625,000 after buying an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 51.6% in the third quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 60,614 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,051,000 after buying an additional 20,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 16.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,338 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.3 %

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.51. 8,819,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,780,708. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.84. The company has a market cap of $31.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.