Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,031 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Simon Property Group by 10%, now owning 36,234 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• Despite recent sales, other investors increased their stakes significantly, with Continuum Advisory LLC raising its holdings by 421.6% in the first quarter.
• Simon Property Group announced a dividend increase to $2.15 per share, yielding 4.8%, reflecting a boost from the previous quarterly dividend of $2.10.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,234 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,031 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $6,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Simon Property Group by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SPG. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Simon Property Group from $168.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Friday, July 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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 report on Tuesday, June 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $184.92.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG stock traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $182.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,829,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,531. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.34 and a fifty-two week high of $190.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.05, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $169.04 and its 200-day moving average is $164.54. The company has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.50.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.01. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 36.78% and a return on equity of 72.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Simon Property Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.450-12.650 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $2.15 per share. This is an increase from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel C. Smith acquired 378 shares of the company's 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 $60,211.62. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 31,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,096,961.42. The trade was a 1.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary M. Rodkin purchased 246 shares of the company's 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 $39,185.34. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,028,102.90. This represents a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 2,428 shares of company stock worth $387,271. 8.66% of the stock is currently 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.