Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 30,259 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 343,364 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,259 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $17,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Lim Capital Ltd raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 296.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 2,575,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $118,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,000 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth $45,752,000. PointState Capital LP raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 81.9% during the third quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 1,927,404 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $88,352,000 after acquiring an additional 868,005 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,620,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,275,127 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $554,849,000 after acquiring an additional 680,575 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.46.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $47.03 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.77 and a 52 week high of $61.25.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.