Davidson Investment Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Davidson Investment Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 277,374 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 6,006 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $16,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 197.4% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 452 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 434.7% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 524 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,299,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,547,375. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.68. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $41.42 and a 12 month high of $65.58. The stock has a market cap of $37.65 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 current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The casino operator reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.55. The company had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 21.05%. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 178.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 90.91%.

Las Vegas Sands declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the casino operator to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $64.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.