Cascade Investment Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Simon Property Group comprises approximately 1.7% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,708,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 4,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $416,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth about $4,229,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.10.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG opened at $174.28 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $177.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.83. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. Simon Property Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 111.85%.

About Simon Property Group

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.