Calamos Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 128.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 387,453 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 218,008 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Las Vegas Sands worth $19,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $459,630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,612,975 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 4,924,340 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $247,891,000 after buying an additional 977,636 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,370,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 29.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,581,075 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $79,591,000 after acquiring an additional 357,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 82.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,852 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $25,163,000 after acquiring an additional 225,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LVS. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $51.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.58.

Las Vegas Sands Stock Performance

Shares of LVS opened at $44.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.62 and a 52 week high of $56.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $49.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 43.76% and a net margin of 12.80%. Research analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 24,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $1,264,848.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.