Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,589 shares of the casino operator's stock after purchasing an additional 19,259 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $8,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 192.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 180,790 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $9,172,000 after acquiring an additional 118,958 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 47.9% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 12,345 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 39.9% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,569 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,786,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LVS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.42.

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Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,606,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,035,574. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.28. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $30.18 and a 1-year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Las Vegas Sands's payout ratio is 50.76%.

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.