Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 88 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 13,226.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 920,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,312,000 after acquiring an additional 913,678 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $69,423,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 160.1% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 763,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,887,000 after buying an additional 469,855 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 65.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 854,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,278,000 after acquiring an additional 337,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,725,000. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPG opened at $147.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $148.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.68. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.17 and a 1-year high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 42.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 111.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.22.

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.