Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,999 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $6,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $364,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 23,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 5.4% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 61,323 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Simon Property Group Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:SPG traded down $3.06 on Wednesday, hitting $172.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,517,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,346. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $177.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.36. The stock has a market cap of $56.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.33 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 (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. Simon Property Group's payout ratio is currently 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.