Metis Global Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $4,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SPG. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 13,226.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 920,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,312,000 after purchasing an additional 913,678 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth $69,423,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 469,855 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 65.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 854,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,278,000 after acquiring an additional 337,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,969,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SPG traded up $1.51 on Monday, hitting $144.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,562,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,609. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.17 and a 12-month high of $157.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.68.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.75%.

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.