New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,421 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 12,115 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $15,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter worth about $134,179,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698,398 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,072,014 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,874,063,000 after buying an additional 1,822,806 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4,226.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,012,800 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $44,067,000 after purchasing an additional 989,392 shares during the period. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,849,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. The trade was a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.2%

LVS opened at $59.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The firm has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.25. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.52.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.