Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $35.30 Million Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 656,254 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,968 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $35,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,822,806 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,902,619 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $430,863,000 after purchasing an additional 459,821 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,823,966 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $382,294,000 after purchasing an additional 31,153 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at about $134,179,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 116.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,498 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $74,272,000 after buying an additional 922,738 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $56.67 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $64.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. This trade represents a 23.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $5,269,071.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,630,946 shares of company stock worth $175,735,901 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands 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.