Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 10.57 million shares valued at about $1.95 billion.
• Several other major institutional investors also boosted their positions, and hedge funds now own 93.01% of Simon Property Group’s stock, underscoring strong institutional interest.
• The REIT reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analyst estimates, and it also raised its dividend to $2.25 per share quarterly while maintaining a $2 billion share buyback authorization.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,572,677 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 363,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 3.24% of Simon Property Group worth $1,950,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,969,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,694,610,000 after buying an additional 286,464 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,765,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,084,730,000 after buying an additional 312,995 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 45.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,384,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,573,450,000 after buying an additional 2,600,508 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 634.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,370,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,383,145,000 after buying an additional 6,366,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,344,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,002,940,000 after buying an additional 82,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SPG. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $189.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $189.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simon Property Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $181.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $205.07.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Simon Property Group stock opened at $206.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $197.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.78. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.44 and a 1 year high of $208.79. The stock has a market cap of $67.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.33.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 70.60% and a return on equity of 104.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Simon Property Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.100-13.250 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 61.15%.

Simon Property Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

Simon Property Group, Inc NYSE: SPG is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops and manages retail real estate properties. Its core business activities include acquisition, development, leasing and property management of regional malls, outlet centers and mixed‑use retail destinations. The company operates retail brands that include high‑profile regional shopping centers and the Premium Outlets platform, and it provides services such as tenant leasing, marketing, property operations and capital projects to optimize asset performance.

Simon's portfolio spans a broad mix of enclosed malls, open‑air centers, outlet properties and mixed‑use developments, and the company pursues redevelopment and repositioning to adapt properties to changing consumer and retail trends.

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