Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 3,015 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,524 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,015 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,142 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Macquarie lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.13.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $52.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.29. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.26. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 55.37%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

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

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.