Polen Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Polen Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,724 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 48,210 shares during the quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 74.9% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,086 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,301 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $8,019,000 after acquiring an additional 8,896 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter worth about $316,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 63,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 3.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,271 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

LVS opened at $43.11 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LVS. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.