ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 7,465 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,523 shares of the casino operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,465 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $3,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LVS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $70.00 to $49.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $48.39 on Friday. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.62 and a fifty-two week high of $55.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.43. The stock has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The casino operator reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.65%.

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.