Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,841 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,662 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 5,841 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $42.91 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.58.

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.