Korea Investment CORP Sells 72,097 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 297,819 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 72,097 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $15,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,595 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $38.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.81. 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 released 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LVS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

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.