First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 304,488 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 674.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,667 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 304,488 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $17,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 248,663 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $12,771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,530 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 430.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3,730 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 79.7% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 10,703 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 4,748 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $35.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $39.27 and its 200-day moving average is $45.86. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 55.56%.

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.

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