Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 952 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,174 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 952 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 25,602 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 11,602 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of LVS opened at $41.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.80.

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%. On average, analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective 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. Macquarie boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.