Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 29,175 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,642,757 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 29,175 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.42% of Simon Property Group worth $662,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 14,701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 9,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.72. 1,305,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,764. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $148.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.40. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.17 and a 52 week high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.55). The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 46.49% and a return on equity of 78.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 99.36%.

Simon Property Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Profile

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.

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