Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 184 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,718 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 714.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Simon Property Group stock opened at $140.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.61 and its 200 day moving average is $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.65. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 42.30%. Simon Property Group’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 8th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 111.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $148.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.22.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.