Avanza Fonder AB Takes $4.23 Million Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,557 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,229,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 19.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,012 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 8.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 147.6% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 15,442 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on 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 increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:SPG traded up $1.57 on Friday, reaching $174.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,302,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,182. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.19 and a 200 day moving average of $167.69. The stock has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.15 and a 12-month high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is 111.85%.

Simon Property Group Company 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.