Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Sold by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan decreased its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,759 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 16,438 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 512 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $57.83 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 87.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Seaport Research Partners decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 1,198,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $79,925,982.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Patrick Dumont sold 210,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.96, for a total value of $14,712,937.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 446,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,244,695.68. This trade represents a 32.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,082,053 shares of company stock worth $207,130,199. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.