Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Shares Acquired by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 72.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPG. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Simon Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $172.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SPG opened at $176.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.15 and a 52-week high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted 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). Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.