Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,269 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $41.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.80. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LVS. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

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.