LGT Group Foundation Trims Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,875 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $16,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SPG. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 51,380 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.6% in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,565,000 after buying an additional 17,552 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 9.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of Simon Property Group stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $139.90. The company had a trading volume of 287,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,462,440. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.74. The stock has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SPG shares. StockNews.com raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

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.