Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 407,968 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,580 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 407,968 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 90,813 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 125.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,018 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth about $592,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 169,291 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $7,745,000 after buying an additional 48,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,941,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.31.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.02. The company had a trading volume of 10,343,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,440,147. The stock has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.13. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $42.99 and a 12-month high of $61.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.26.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 42.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.65%.

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.