The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,037,693 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 74,206 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $163,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 222.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,098,518 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $592,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279,390 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $364,892,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 33,102.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,060,288 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $197,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,893,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $513,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,206 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $48.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.93. The stock has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.83. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $44.21 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 133.90% and a net margin of 12.59%.The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

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.