Due to a downturn in Macau, Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s largest stockholder, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., recently cut back its stake in the company by nearly 40 percent. A recent filing indicated the mutual fund company now holds 10.4 million shares of Wynn Resorts, down from 17.1 million as of December 31.
Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts is building a second resort in Macau, the $4.1 billion Wynn Palace, scheduled to open in the first half of 2016. The resort is one of the projects totaling more than $20 billion that casino operators plan to open by 2017.
Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said, “We continue to have a positive, ongoing relationship” with Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price.
Wynn Resorts shares have declined 23 percent this year. The company reduced its dividend by two-thirds to 50 cents a share last month.
Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, but betting there has fallen due to a government-led crackdown on corruption, leading wealthy Chinese to avoid conspicuous displays of consumption. As a result, total gambling revenue in the region fell 39 percent in April, the 11th consecutive month of decline, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Macau revenue accounted for 70 percent of Wynn Resorts’ sales in 2014.
