Employees Retirement System of Texas Takes $11.11 Million Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 206,598 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $11,113,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.2%

LVS opened at $53.57 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.92. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The stock has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Seaport Research Partners lowered their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,062,502 shares of company stock valued at $137,730,622. 1.20% of the stock is owned by 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.