Hamlin Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 635,289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $109,403,000. Simon Property Group makes up approximately 2.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 617.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,191,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $539,393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746,503 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,620,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,892,000 after acquiring an additional 88,378 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,487,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $251,484,000 after acquiring an additional 25,519 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 373.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,259,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,906,000 after acquiring an additional 993,694 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,142,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $193,023,000 after acquiring an additional 73,742 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Simon Property Group stock opened at $174.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.19 and a 200 day moving average of $167.97. The firm has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed 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. This is a positive change 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 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.