Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Raises Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 182,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 36,898 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.06% of Simon Property Group worth $31,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SPG. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 107.5% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SPG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

SPG stock opened at $172.90 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.36. The company has a market capitalization of $56.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.75. 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 fifty-two week low of $135.15 and a fifty-two 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 111.85%.

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.