Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) Shares Sold by Polen Capital Management LLC

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 154,724 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 48,210 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $7,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,062 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,505 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 760 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of LVS opened at $43.11 on Monday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.65. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

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.