Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,737 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $5,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 107.5% in 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. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the purchase, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

SPG stock opened at $173.86 on Thursday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $176.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $56.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.