Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,150 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Simon Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $160.00 to $172.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:SPG opened at $176.07 on Friday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.73. The stock has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. Simon Property Group’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 firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.76 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.85%.

About Simon Property Group

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.