Danske Bank A S Purchases 163,907 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS

Danske Bank A S increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 109.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 313,566 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 163,907 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $20,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 48.0% during 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. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,528 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,945 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 511,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LVS. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.28.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $53.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.85. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $37.24 and a one year high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.15. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

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.