Perpetual Ltd Sells 1,170 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,170 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SPG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of SPG opened at $175.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.15. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.15 and a fifty-two week high of $186.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.20 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 111.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Profile

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.