State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 135,154 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 73,501 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $5,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 93.2% in the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $40.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.11. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $55.65.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 44.41%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Las Vegas Sands Company 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.