Norges Bank Invests $2.06 Billion in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 11,959,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,059,505,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 126.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 45.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,006,000 after buying an additional 14,893 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 456.9% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 15,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,640,000 after buying an additional 12,816 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 9,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter valued at about $287,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.25 and a 52 week high of $190.14. The company has a market cap of $54.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.42.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. Research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SPG. Scotiabank set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised Simon Property Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.33.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

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.