Hamlin Capital Management LLC Invests $109.40 Million in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 635,289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $109,403,000. Simon Property Group comprises 2.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Simon Property Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG opened at $174.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $177.19 and its 200-day moving average is $167.97. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.15 and a twelve month high of $186.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, 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 (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.