Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 10,063 Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,984 shares of the casino operator’s stock after buying an additional 10,063 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Las Vegas Sands were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Las Vegas Sands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,810,351 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $709,300,000 after acquiring an additional 160,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,662,548 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $598,988,000 after buying an additional 1,389,963 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,130,486 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $459,630,000 after buying an additional 5,612,975 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Las Vegas Sands by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,501,382 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $333,911,000 after buying an additional 1,577,042 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,627,422 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $283,284,000 after acquiring an additional 77,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

LVS stock opened at $40.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.81. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.62 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The casino operator reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.04). Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 45.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Las Vegas Sands’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LVS shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $64.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.42.

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.