Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,639 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 13,226.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 920,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,312,000 after purchasing an additional 913,678 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,423,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Simon Property Group by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 854,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $92,278,000 after buying an additional 337,430 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,725,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Simon Property Group by 16.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,267,131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $136,888,000 after buying an additional 180,318 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 analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

SPG stock opened at $143.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.30 and a 200-day moving average of $136.47. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.17 and a 12-month high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by ($1.05). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given 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 dividend yield of 5.42%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.