Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,081 shares of the casino operator's stock after acquiring an additional 52,993 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $15,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 148.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,443 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,376 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,842 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 7,544 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 7,647.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 443,325 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $19,617,000 after acquiring an additional 437,603 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.46. 4,981,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,705,179. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. 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 50-day simple moving average of $51.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.43. The firm has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.60%.

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.