Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Simon Property Group by 59.7% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 62,414 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,474,000 after purchasing an additional 23,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 29,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,502,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:SPG opened at $174.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.15 and a 52 week high of $186.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.87 and a 200 day moving average of $168.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.85%.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho increased 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

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.