Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Stake Lowered by Smead Capital Management Inc.

Smead Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,300,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 38,930 shares during the period. Simon Property Group makes up about 5.9% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $328,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 360,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,903,000 after purchasing an additional 51,380 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 152,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,923,000 after purchasing an additional 6,703 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 121.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,565,000 after purchasing an additional 17,552 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,670,000 after buying an additional 7,250 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $148.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SPG traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $140.57. The stock had a trading volume of 358,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,495,764. The company has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.19. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.17 and a 52 week high of $157.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

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

Simon Property Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.95 dividend. 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 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 111.75%.

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.