Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 16,897 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,897 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $19,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SPG. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 714.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Selway Asset Management bought a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SPG. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SPG opened at $140.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.68. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $157.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $148.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.74.

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

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.75%.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

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.