Stableford Capital II LLC Sells 16,228 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Stableford Capital II LLC lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,351 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 16,228 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC's holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price 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. 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 an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE LVS traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $43.48. The stock had a trading volume of 6,739,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,675,360. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.56 and a 200-day moving average of $46.84. The company has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 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%. Equities analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.