Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,900 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 10,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third 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 period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $247,891,000 after acquiring an additional 977,636 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at $24,370,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $79,591,000 after purchasing an additional 357,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 82.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,852 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $25,163,000 after purchasing an additional 225,510 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.1 %

Las Vegas Sands stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $44.88. The stock had a trading volume of 4,310,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,498,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.79. 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 (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 43.76%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 dividend yield of 2.23%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.58.

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.