Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,266 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 107.5% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SPG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG opened at $174.42 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $176.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.78. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.15 and a 52-week high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.85%.

Simon Property Group Profile

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.