Sapient Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 280,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $39,969,000. Simon Property Group comprises 1.0% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Simon Property Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 13,226.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth $69,423,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 160.1% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 763,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,887,000 after buying an additional 469,855 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Simon Property Group by 65.3% during the third 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. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SPG traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,257,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,757. The firm has a market cap of $46.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.17 and a 1 year high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.34 by ($1.05). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 42.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 8th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.46%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 111.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SPG shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.22.

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.