Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires 165,157 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 110.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 315,168 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 165,157 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $16,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays set a $64.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $53.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.60 and a 200-day moving average of $58.92. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $30.18 and a 1 year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total value of $79,925,982.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $5,269,071.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,062,502 shares of company stock valued at $137,730,622. 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.