Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,203 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 42.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,916 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 7,423 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,060 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

NYSE:LVS opened at $44.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.26. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $56.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s 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.