Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $1.89 Million in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 36,788 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,889,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 32,948 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after acquiring an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $709,300,000 after purchasing an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 11,602 shares during the period. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.5 %

LVS opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.69. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted 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 net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.

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.