Perpetual Ltd Reduces Holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Perpetual Ltd reduced its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth $364,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 23,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 5.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 61,323 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SPG. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Simon Property Group stock opened at $175.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $177.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($1.54). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 111.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simon Property Group Profile

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc, the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries.