Toronto Dominion Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Toronto Dominion Bank lowered its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,749 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 53,247 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $6,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,743 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 44,223 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $283,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,807 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth about $619,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 833,487 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $36,882,000 after purchasing an additional 191,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $27,590,000 after buying an additional 136,859 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE LVS opened at $53.87 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.85 and its 200 day moving average is $45.62.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $6,405,744.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,540,776.03. This trade represents a 58.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock valued at $10,861,707. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.42.

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.