State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 4.4% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.08% of the company worth $42.87 million after selling 11,909 shares.
• Several analysts adjusted their price targets for Simon Property Group, with JPMorgan lowering it from $192.00 to $180.00 while LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated a buy rating with a target of $225.00.
• Simon Property Group announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.15, reflecting a yield of 5.0%, which is up from the previous quarter's dividend of $2.10.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 258,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,909 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.08% of Simon Property Group worth $42,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPG. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the first quarter valued at about $724,937,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 133.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,206,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $532,529,000 after buying an additional 1,830,264 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,462,856 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $940,758,000 after buying an additional 1,718,398 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $212,592,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the first quarter valued at about $197,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

SPG stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.18. 1,581,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,525,658. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.62. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.34 and a 12 month high of $190.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.48.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.01. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 72.38% and a net margin of 36.78%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. Simon Property Group's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $179.00 price target on Simon Property Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Simon Property Group from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.64.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Larry C. Glasscock bought 396 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $159.29 per share, for a total transaction of $63,078.84. Following the acquisition, the director owned 43,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,878,938.65. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 522 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $159.29 per share, for a total transaction of $83,149.38. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 58,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,269,881.55. This trade represents a 0.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 2,428 shares of company stock worth $387,271 over the last 90 days. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.