Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 3,820 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,107,775 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,918,472,000 after buying an additional 209,589 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 1.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,170,552 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,663,219,000 after purchasing an additional 531,799 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 15.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,351,573 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $502,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,754 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 8,500,248 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $376,136,000 after purchasing an additional 68,568 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 987.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,549,615 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $245,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,072 shares in the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Las Vegas Sands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.92.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other Las Vegas Sands news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 119,221 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $6,405,744.33. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,540,776.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of Las Vegas Sands stock opened at $51.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $55.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The casino operator reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 13.29% and a return on equity of 44.26%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

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.