New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 40,270 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 261,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 40,270 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.08% of Simon Property Group worth $37,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 714.3% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Selway Asset Management acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

NYSE SPG traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $142.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,741,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,037. The company has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.51. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.34 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Simon Property Group's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46%. Simon Property Group's payout ratio is currently 111.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.22.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.