Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys 15,352 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,950 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,352 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $14,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased 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 in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $2,051,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:LVS opened at $49.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $40.03 and a 52-week high of $70.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.63.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%.Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.75 to $78.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.