Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,454 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LVS. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 549.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 182.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 672 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 710 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.91.

Insider Activity

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $3,294,033.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,028,824.50. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $50.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $40.03 and a 52 week high of $70.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

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.