HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 113.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,354 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 204,564 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands worth $19,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.92. 4,321,637 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,635,164. The stock has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.72. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 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.