Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 334 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,291 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,370,000. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $79,591,000 after purchasing an additional 357,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 128.7% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 387,453 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $19,900,000 after buying an additional 218,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS opened at $44.00 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.60. The company has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.58.

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.