Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys 44,223 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,743 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,107,775 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,918,472,000 after buying an additional 209,589 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 641,682 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $33,175,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,590 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 211,320 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 15,216 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LVS traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.19. 3,359,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,802,467. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $55.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.10 and a 200-day moving average of $44.77.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,129,724. This represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Argus downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Macquarie lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.00.

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.