Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,217 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 32,168 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Aviva PLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 35,623 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,407,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,192,285 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $61,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $443,086,000 after buying an additional 80,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Barclays reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.25.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,478,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,021,838. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.