NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases 16,291 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 341.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,060 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,291 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $134,179,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after buying an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $151,641,000 after buying an additional 1,105,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4,504.2% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,028,808 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $55,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE LVS opened at $54.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $30.18 and a one year high of $70.45.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 91.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.28%.

Insider Transactions at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Zacks Research downgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. HSBC upped their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $75.50 to $76.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays set a $64.00 target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands 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.