The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 77,807 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.78% of Las Vegas Sands worth $283,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 13.4% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,590 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 53,216 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,513,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 19.0% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,103 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $51.41 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.11. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.60%.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.