Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,542 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SPG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth $295,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Simon Property Group by 316.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 19,787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,181,000 after acquiring an additional 15,033 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 80.1% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 7,506 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,745,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 13.4% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 28,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,573,000 after acquiring an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of SPG stock opened at $204.81 on Wednesday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.00 and a fifty-two week high of $208.28. The stock has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.42.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.02. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 124.12% and a net margin of 72.71%.The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Simon Property Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $8.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.06%.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on SPG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $181.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $185.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.14.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE: SPG) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops and manages retail real estate properties. Its core business activities include acquisition, development, leasing and property management of regional malls, outlet centers and mixed‑use retail destinations. The company operates retail brands that include high‑profile regional shopping centers and the Premium Outlets platform, and it provides services such as tenant leasing, marketing, property operations and capital projects to optimize asset performance.

Simon’s portfolio spans a broad mix of enclosed malls, open‑air centers, outlet properties and mixed‑use developments, and the company pursues redevelopment and repositioning to adapt properties to changing consumer and retail trends.