Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 36,684 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,299 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 36,684 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 37.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 876 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Randy Hyzak sold 57,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.45, for a total value of $3,823,865.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,555,008.55. This trade represents a 51.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,704,062 shares of company stock valued at $168,024,845. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seaport Global Securities upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.60.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.2%

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $66.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.63. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.25%.

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.