Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,948 shares of the casino operator's stock after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $133,876,000 after purchasing an additional 57,739 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $79,591,000 after purchasing an additional 357,234 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.38. The company had a trading volume of 5,917,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,135,474. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.85. The stock has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.58.

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.