Davidson Investment Advisors Has $10.38 Million Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 268,676 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,146 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 10,257 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $47.99 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 44.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Las Vegas Sands announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the casino operator to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.31.

Las Vegas Sands 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.