National Pension Service Buys 18,593 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,405 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 18,593 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $17,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on LVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.88.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.6%

LVS opened at $42.88 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $42.11 and a fifty-two week high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.06.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 133.90%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.69%.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) develops and operates integrated resorts that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and meeting facilities, dining, retail, entertainment and other leisure offerings. The company primarily serves international tourism, business travel and premium gaming markets.

Las Vegas Sands’ principal properties are Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and a portfolio of integrated resorts in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao.