Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Lowers Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 487,363 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,593 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $23,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $245,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,072 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,330,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $275,559,000 after buying an additional 1,968,941 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $502,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,754 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth about $72,550,000. Finally, Charles Lim Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 178.3% in the second quarter. Charles Lim Capital Ltd now owns 1,600,000 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $70,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.5 %

LVS stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,043,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,754,520. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $55.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.12.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LVS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.92.

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.