Banco Santander S.A. Grows Holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. by 101.3%, now holding a total of 147,640 shares worth $24.52 million as of the most recent filing.
• Institutional investors currently own 93.01% of Simon Property Group's stock, reflecting strong interest and support from large stakeholders.
• Simon Property Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.10 per share, with an annualized yield of 5.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 133.76%.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 101.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 74,304 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $24,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 365,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $60,737,000 after buying an additional 3,814 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 20,778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,451,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 1st quarter worth about $10,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel C. Smith bought 378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $60,211.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 31,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,096,961.42. This represents a 1.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary M. Rodkin purchased 246 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,028,102.90. This represents a 1.31% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 2,386 shares of company stock valued at $380,066. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SPG shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $159.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $192.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $180.00 to $179.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $182.64.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPG traded up $5.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $169.46. 2,645,247 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,640,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.29, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $55.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $162.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 35.98% and a return on equity of 67.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Simon Property Group's payout ratio is 133.76%.

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.