DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 722,854 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,972 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $37,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $709,300,000 after buying an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $598,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,963 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,571,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $40.35 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. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.71.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.48%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.