Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,063 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 13,400 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $12,225,000 after acquiring an additional 177,695 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 67,446 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,390,000 after acquiring an additional 19,488 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $2,051,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 411.5% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 44,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 35,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2,655.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 878,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $57,150,000 after acquiring an additional 846,155 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $50.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.72.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Seaport Research Partners lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.91.

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.