DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 2,412 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $10,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Simon Property Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG opened at $164.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.45. The company has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.25 and a fifty-two week high of $190.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 115.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank set a $186.00 price objective on Simon Property Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.