Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 28,263 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,754 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 28,263 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $9,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LVS. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 223,371 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $11,472,000 after acquiring an additional 49,982 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth $475,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 335,010 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $17,206,000 after buying an additional 89,508 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 32,984 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after buying an additional 10,063 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $38.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.56 and its 200 day moving average is $47.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LVS. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

About Las Vegas Sands

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.