Brighton Jones LLC Takes Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 617.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,191,296 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $539,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,503 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Simon Property Group by 373.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,259,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $212,906,000 after purchasing an additional 993,694 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 18,764.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 892,085 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $150,780,000 after buying an additional 887,356 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter worth $109,403,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 2,520.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 658,191 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $111,247,000 after buying an additional 633,072 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SPG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of SPG stock traded down $1.12 on Tuesday, hitting $175.58. 786,634 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,717. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.61 and a 200 day moving average of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $57.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. Simon Property Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group's payout ratio is presently 111.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company's stock.

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.