Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $27.59 Million Stock Position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 548,072 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 136,859 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Las Vegas Sands worth $27,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LVS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 118.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 560 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 849 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.42.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $51.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.62 and a 12-month high of $56.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.97. The firm has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 44.26% and a net margin of 13.29%. Las Vegas Sands’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is 39.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $1,264,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,724. This trade represents a 28.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total value of $3,191,114.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,732 shares of company stock worth $10,861,707 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.