Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 237,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,589,890 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $12,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS stock opened at $54.73 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.96. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $70.45. The firm has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HSBC increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.55.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,077,991 shares of company stock worth $138,756,613 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.