Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,637,600 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 80,709 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.19% of Las Vegas Sands worth $443,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,923,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,953,111. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.28.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. 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. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

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.