Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Invests $3.16 Million in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 61,537 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 0.6%

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $40.06 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.30.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the casino operator to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Las Vegas Sands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.