Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Stake Cut by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,721 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 83,082 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,310 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $6,487,000 after buying an additional 36,567 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 9,382,267 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $481,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,829 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1,772.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,947 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.1 %

LVS opened at $32.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average is $46.96. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $56.61.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, equities analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

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.