Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 537,328 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Schroder Investment Management Group decreased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 926,396 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 537,328 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.13% of Las Vegas Sands worth $46,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.42.

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Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 8.3 %

NYSE:LVS traded down $3.03 on Friday, hitting $33.38. 11,363,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,957,860. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.66. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.74 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.