Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,413 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $133,876,000 after purchasing an additional 57,739 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $79,591,000 after buying an additional 357,234 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $43.00 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The company has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

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.