Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,866,115 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,026,916 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $369,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 254.8% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 557 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $78.50 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.19.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS stock opened at $45.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $44.22 and a 1-year high of $70.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.90.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.