Mather Group LLC. Increases Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 272.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,436 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,707 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LVS. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 128.7% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 387,453 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $19,900,000 after purchasing an additional 218,008 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 104,404 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $5,362,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,042 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 531.1% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 172,006 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 144,749 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of LVS stock opened at $42.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.62 and a twelve month high of $56.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.82. The stock has a market cap of $30.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 43.76%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

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.