Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 27,267 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,574,544 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,267 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.24% of Las Vegas Sands worth $84,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.91.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $47.15 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $43.20 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

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.