Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 60.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,170 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 255,076 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total value of $41,216,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,000,000 shares of company stock valued at $119,719,200. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.13.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 3.7%

NYSE LVS opened at $65.13 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $65.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The company has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.00.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

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.