Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. by 51.5% in the first quarter, owning approximately 619,550 shares worth $101,987,000.
• Simon Property Group recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $2.15 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 5.0%.
• The company reported earnings of $3.05 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and representing a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.9%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 51.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 619,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 210,699 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.19% of Simon Property Group worth $101,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 801,728 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $133,151,000 after buying an additional 166,439 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 14,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 11.6% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Simon Property Group by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 7,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Simon Property Group from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $159.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Simon Property Group from $192.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Simon Property Group from $182.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel C. Smith purchased 378 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $159.29 per share, for a total transaction of $60,211.62. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 31,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,096,961.42. This represents a 1.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry C. Glasscock acquired 396 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $63,078.84. Following the purchase, the director owned 43,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,878,938.65. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 2,428 shares of company stock valued at $387,271 in the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 0.6%

Simon Property Group stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,581,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,658. The company has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.62. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.34 and a 12 month high of $190.13.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 72.38% and a net margin of 36.78%. Simon Property Group's revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $2.15 dividend. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.83%.

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.