Reuben S. Leibowitz Acquires 465 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Stock

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG opened at $176.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.73. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.15 and a 52 week high of $186.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.85%.

Institutional Trading of Simon Property Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 72.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,144,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 12,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SPG shares. StockNews.com cut Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

About Simon Property Group

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.