Cohen Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Cohen Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,096 shares of the casino operator’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 25,286 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,299,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $465,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Las Vegas Sands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 795,377 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $40,851,000 after acquiring an additional 106,830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of 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 objective on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert G. Goldstein sold 60,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.02, for a total transaction of $3,191,114.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS opened at $44.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.12. 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 1 year low of $36.62 and a 1 year high of $56.60.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.