DnB Asset Management AS Trims Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

DnB Asset Management AS cut its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,248 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,405 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $22,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5,139.8% in the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,242,005 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $530,953,000 after purchasing an additional 9,065,624 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $164,559,000. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth about $175,432,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,595,575 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $297,908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,344,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6,238.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,591,485 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $76,503,000 after buying an additional 1,566,378 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $69.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.73.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS opened at $48.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a PE ratio of 699.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.19. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $33.38 and a 1 year high of $65.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.57.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The casino operator reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 0.75% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.34) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 7th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 1,142.86%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People's Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.