Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPG. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Simon Property Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 14,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 9,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 86 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 equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 0.4 %

SPG stock opened at $140.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.17 and a 12-month high of $157.82. The stock has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.49 and its 200 day moving average is $135.23.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 42.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 111.75%.

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

Simon Property Group Profile

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.