Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,500 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 44,223 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in 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 during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.99. The company had a trading volume of 4,715,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,609,847. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $45.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.44. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.