Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 99.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 420,674 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $207,000 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 company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 21,657 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 35,985 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 7,658 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,076,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 227,478 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $11,194,000 after purchasing an additional 34,952 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LVS shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $5,206,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,020.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $46.87 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $43.77 and a one year high of $63.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.69. The company has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The casino operator reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.13. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 42.34% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Las Vegas Sands’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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.