Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 33,465 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 713,974 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 33,465 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Las Vegas Sands worth $41,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 46,767 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,612 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,282 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 13,502 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 8,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:LVS opened at $49.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $41.42 and a 52-week high of $65.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.55. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 21.05% and a net margin of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.27) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 178.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LVS. UBS Group upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $64.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.68.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

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.