Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,214 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,287 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $11,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $42.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.56.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released 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%. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders 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 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

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.