Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 964 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth about $230,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased 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 acquiring an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.1% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 688,547 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 33,273 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 99.2% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,197 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 21,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 78,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,496 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of LVS opened at $44.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.31.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.