Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,704 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 845 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,086 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 5,604 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,301 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $8,019,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth $316,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 63,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,271 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.8 %

LVS opened at $43.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.59. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 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 represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.