ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 5,961 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,937 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,961 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,249,208 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,593,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,722,816 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $607,373,000 after purchasing an additional 592,321 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.8% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,040,975 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $436,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698,398 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 9.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,442,798 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $364,775,000 after buying an additional 790,952 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter valued at $183,836,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total transaction of $41,216,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $6,499,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,637.65. The trade was a 87.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,100,000 shares of company stock worth $126,218,200. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.13.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS opened at $65.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The company has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.96. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $67.83.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.16. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

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.