Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $55.22 Million in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,075,172 shares of the casino operator’s stock, valued at approximately $55,221,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Las Vegas Sands as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Las Vegas Sands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $69.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 0.8 %

LVS opened at $45.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.62 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.56.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 45.82% and a net margin of 12.80%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

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.