Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,075,172 shares of the casino operator's stock, valued at approximately $55,221,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Las Vegas Sands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,889,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,054 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 143,209 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $7,355,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,348 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS traded down $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $42.78. The company had a trading volume of 5,940,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,627,412. The stock has a market cap of $30.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day moving average is $47.52.

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

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands 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.