Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 16,897 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $19,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,745,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $512,624,000 after buying an additional 86,778 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,465,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $374,325,000 after acquiring an additional 40,630 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,409,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,265,000 after purchasing an additional 71,751 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,128,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,897,000 after purchasing an additional 26,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,887,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $203,866,000 after purchasing an additional 105,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SPG. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SPG stock opened at $140.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.68. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.34 by ($1.05). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.75%.

Simon Property Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.