Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,025 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,158 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LVS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 69.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,101 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $21,907,000 after acquiring an additional 232,091 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,101,190 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $119,799,000 after purchasing an additional 12,593 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter valued at about $657,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 560.4% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 70,685 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 59,982 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,637.65. This trade represents a 87.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 360,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total transaction of $22,698,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $126,218,200. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.60.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of LVS opened at $67.60 on Wednesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $68.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.