Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 4,822 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly reduced its stake in Simon Property Group by 42.7%, selling 4,822 shares during the first quarter, which left them with 6,477 shares valued at about $1.08 million.
• Simon Property Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.15, marking a positive shift from the previous $2.10, with a current annualized yield of 5.2%.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a net revenue increase of 13.9% year-over-year, with an EPS of $3.05, surpassing analyst expectations.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,477 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,822 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 45,859 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,897,000 after acquiring an additional 7,865 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Simon Property Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 213,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,741,000 after purchasing an additional 4,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,907 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 2.5%

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

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 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, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a $2.15 dividend. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This is a boost from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 129.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays started coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $192.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on 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, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Daniel C. Smith purchased 378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $60,211.62. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,096,961.42. The trade was a 1.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Glyn Aeppel bought 234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $159.29 per share, for a total transaction of $37,273.86. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,035,589.53. This represents a 1.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 2,386 shares of company stock worth $380,066 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

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.