Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,087 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 8,326 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $4,518,000 after buying an additional 44,223 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at about $619,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $27,590,000 after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of LVS traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.38. 5,917,231 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,135,474. The company has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $48.01 and its 200-day moving average is $46.85.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 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

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.