NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Raises Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 341.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,060 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 16,291 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third 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 shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Argus decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.81. 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 Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.88.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly 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. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 51.28%.

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.