Insider Buying: Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Director Purchases $24,053.64 in Stock

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Director Marta R. Stewart purchased 156 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $154.19 per share, with a total value of $24,053.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,584 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,326.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SPG stock opened at $147.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.58 and a 200-day moving average of $132.87. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by ($1.05). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 42.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.75%.

Simon Property Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 3,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 714.3% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $148.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.22.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.