Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Acquires New Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 703 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $39.04 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Macquarie raised their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.