OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd Acquires 15,364 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 277,964 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,364 shares during the period. Las Vegas Sands comprises about 9.5% of OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $14,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,874,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,806 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $436,883,000 after buying an additional 2,698,398 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after buying an additional 459,821 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $382,294,000 after buying an additional 31,153 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,179,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 53,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $3,747,695.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares in the company, valued at $966,531.95. This trade represents a 79.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Randy Hyzak sold 57,545 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.45, for a total value of $3,823,865.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,555,008.55. This represents a 51.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:LVS opened at $57.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LVS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.61.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.