Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,557 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,229,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 107.5% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

NYSE:SPG opened at $174.28 on Friday. 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 price of $177.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.50. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.15 and a 1-year high of $186.00. The firm has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SPG shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.