Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Lowers Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,972 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 192.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 180,790 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $9,172,000 after acquiring an additional 118,958 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 12,345 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,569 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at about $4,786,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 41.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 144,330 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $7,266,000 after buying an additional 42,492 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $33.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. 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 $32.74 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Macquarie boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.