Norges Bank Makes New $216.57 Million Investment in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,216,720 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $216,571,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 11,602 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 50,087 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 8,326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $38.15 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LVS. Barclays dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

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.