Miller Global Investments LLC Takes $731,000 Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Miller Global Investments LLC 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 11,225 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 4.4% in the 2nd 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. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after acquiring an additional 459,821 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,823 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $277,963,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 5.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,723,494 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $200,335,000 after purchasing an additional 187,389 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $54.13 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $70.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.82. The company has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LVS. Zacks Research downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.