Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $38.31 Million Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 745,994 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,933 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $38,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,271 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 3,862 shares during the last quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 196.8% during the fourth quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 14,179 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 8,032 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 272.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,436 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 4,707 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LVS. UBS Group upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of LVS opened at $41.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a one year low of $36.62 and a one year high of $56.60. The company has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

Las Vegas Sands 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.