Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,368 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,495 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

NYSE LVS opened at $51.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $55.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.94.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 39.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

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.