Simon Property Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SPG)

Key Points

• Simon Property Group experienced a significant surge in options trading, with investors purchasing 82,094 call options, marking an increase of 4,533% compared to average volume.
• Directors Reuben S. Leibowitz and Stefan M. Selig acquired additional shares of the company's stock, indicating insider confidence in the business, with total insider purchases valued at $387,271 over the last three months.
• Simon Property Group announced a quarterly dividend of $2.15 per share, reflecting a positive increase from the previous $2.10, and demonstrating a dividend yield of 4.7%.

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 82,094 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof4,533% compared to the typical volume of 1,772 call options.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 522 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $159.29 per share, for a total transaction of $83,149.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,269,881.55. The trade was a 0.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stefan M. Selig acquired 219 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $159.29 per share, with a total value of $34,884.51. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,078,324.49. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 2,428 shares of company stock valued at $387,271 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Simon Property Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,839,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,369,128,000 after buying an additional 149,314 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,452,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,448,703,000 after acquiring an additional 228,819 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,592,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,536,565,000 after acquiring an additional 127,636 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,051,262,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Simon Property Group by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,512,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,046,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPG. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $168.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Mizuho lowered 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $179.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $184.92.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG traded up $0.37 on Monday, reaching $182.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,338,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,637,155. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.23. Simon Property Group has a 52-week low of $136.34 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $59.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 72.38% and a net margin of 36.78%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. Simon Property Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.450-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group will post 12.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

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

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.

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