Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Takes $8.62 Million Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has acquired 51,904 shares of Simon Property Group, valued at approximately $8.62 million, marking a new position for the institutional investor.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed opinions on SPG's stock, with Stifel Nicolaus raising the target price to $180, while Mizuho and JPMorgan lowered their targets to $169 and $180 respectively.
• Simon Property Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.10 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend payout of 5.09% despite a high payout ratio of 133.76%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 51,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $8,620,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 358,414 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $61,723,000 after buying an additional 7,087 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 213,265 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,726,000 after acquiring an additional 79,677 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 697,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $122,847,000 after acquiring an additional 46,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 32,474 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,702 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SPG traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,374,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,636. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.29. The firm has a market cap of $54.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.40. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.34 and a 1-year high of $190.13.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.04. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 35.98% and a return on equity of 67.32%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 133.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $83,149.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,269,881.55. This represents a 0.91% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary M. Rodkin purchased 246 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $39,185.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,028,102.90. The trade was a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,386 shares of company stock worth $380,066 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SPG shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Simon Property Group from $182.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays started coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Simon Property Group from $192.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Simon Property Group 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.