WINTON GROUP Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

WINTON GROUP Ltd cut its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 71.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,033 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 34,925 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,663 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $29,025,000 after acquiring an additional 59,675 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 223,371 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $11,472,000 after purchasing an additional 49,982 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 335,010 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $17,206,000 after buying an additional 89,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of LVS opened at $38.15 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.76. The company has a market capitalization of $27.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

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 analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS 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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.