Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 120,542 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,750 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 120,542 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $4,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LVS. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter valued at $153,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 19,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter valued at about $359,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,038,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 303,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $11,705,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE LVS opened at $66.26 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 73.14% and a net margin of 12.69%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LVS. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Argus lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Seaport Global Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.52.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total transaction of $14,712,937.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at $31,244,695.68. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock worth $333,348,399. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.