Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys New Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,214 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 113.2% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 385,354 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $19,792,000 after purchasing an additional 204,564 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,799 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 231,214 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $11,875,000 after acquiring an additional 6,287 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,167,544 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $57,385,000 after acquiring an additional 335,180 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $43.11 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.64 and a 200 day moving average of $47.59.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands 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.