Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,151 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Simon Property Group by 12.5%, resulting in ownership of 15,124 shares worth approximately $2.51 million.
• Several large investors increased their stakes in Simon Property Group, with Continuum Advisory LLC showing a notable 421.6% increase in their holdings during the same period.
• Simon Property Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.15 per share, reflecting a total annualized dividend of $8.60 and a yield of 5.2%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,124 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,151 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 31.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 193.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 8.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,415,000 after acquiring an additional 4,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 2.5%

SPG stock traded up $4.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $169.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,242,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,056. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.05. The company has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.48. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.34 and a 12 month high of $190.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.72.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.01. The company 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 36.78% and a return on equity of 72.38%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $2.15 dividend. This is a boost from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Simon Property Group's payout ratio is currently 129.83%.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Larry C. Glasscock purchased 396 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $63,078.84. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 43,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,878,938.65. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,028,102.90. This trade represents a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 2,386 shares of company stock worth $380,066. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Simon Property Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $182.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.64.

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.