Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,601 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 1,870 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 441,610 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $22,681,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 55,848 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 6,790 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,023 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,200 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LVS opened at $41.98 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.80. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.62 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 EPS 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%. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

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.