VELA Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

VELA Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Simon Property Group by 727.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Simon Property Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $157.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,259,500.17. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

NYSE SPG opened at $164.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.03. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.11 and a 52 week high of $169.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 45.90% and a return on equity of 78.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 104.46%.

Simon Property Group 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.