Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,887 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,663 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $29,025,000 after purchasing an additional 59,675 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 223,371 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $11,472,000 after buying an additional 49,982 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Las Vegas Sands by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter worth $475,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 335,010 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $17,206,000 after acquiring an additional 89,508 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $38.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.56 and its 200-day moving average is $47.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on 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. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.