Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Decreases Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,547,277 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 32,228 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.23% of Las Vegas Sands worth $100,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $12,225,000 after buying an additional 177,695 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 124.4% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,003,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,679,000 after acquiring an additional 556,440 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,143,000. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 102,576 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 44,940 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:LVS opened at $52.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.74. The company has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands 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.