Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,209 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LVS. Barclays decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $44.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.44.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. On average, equities 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.