Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Reduces Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,641 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 47.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,590 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 211,320 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 15,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth $72,550,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the first quarter worth about $525,000. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $50.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.11. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $55.65. 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 50 day simple moving average of $49.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.84.

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

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

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.