Clarius Group LLC Sells 2,945 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Clarius Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,945 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Simon Property Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:SPG traded up $1.57 on Friday, hitting $174.28. 1,302,389 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,322,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.15 and a 52 week high of $186.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $177.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.83.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change 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 4.82%. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

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.