Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $598,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 42.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,916 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 7,423 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,060 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $44.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.26.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

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.