Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 178,907 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,144,012 shares of the casino operator's stock after selling 178,907 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Las Vegas Sands worth $58,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 58,824,289 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $3,021,205,000 after purchasing an additional 12,304,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,571,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator's stock worth $481,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake 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 valued at $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator's stock valued at $598,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $36.01. 5,844,542 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,061,917. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.70.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.