Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 81,414 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,579,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 81,414 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.23% of Las Vegas Sands worth $84,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 124.4% during the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,003,880 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,679,000 after acquiring an additional 556,440 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 644,286 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,033,000 after purchasing an additional 42,598 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,254,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $908,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,093 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:LVS opened at $65.60 on Tuesday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $70.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.66.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.52.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, COO Patrick Dumont sold 135,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.96, for a total transaction of $9,215,579.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,351,479.68. The trade was a 23.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Miriam Adelson sold 77,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $5,269,071.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,333,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,407,273.96. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,182,053 shares of company stock valued at $333,348,399. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.