BDF Gestion Sells 9,930 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

BDF Gestion reduced its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,930 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $4,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

SPG opened at $173.86 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $176.49 and a 200 day moving average of $169.30. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.15 and a fifty-two week high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted 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). Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. Simon Property Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 111.85%.

Simon Property Group Company 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.