Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,900 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 10,600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $10,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third 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. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $247,891,000 after purchasing an additional 977,636 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,659,427 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $133,876,000 after buying an additional 57,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $79,591,000 after buying an additional 357,234 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. The trade was a 28.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $48.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The firm has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.09.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on LVS shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.58.

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.