Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 466,330 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 99.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 934,927 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 466,330 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $60,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 358.4% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 227,278 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $12,225,000 after acquiring an additional 177,695 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 124.4% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,003,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,679,000 after purchasing an additional 556,440 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,143,000. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,262,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 102,576 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,940 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seaport Research Partners decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:LVS opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.81.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Las Vegas Sands Profile

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.