Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $3,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Simon Property Group by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 317,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,650,000 after acquiring an additional 115,399 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter worth $331,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Simon Property Group by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 5,635 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Simon Property Group in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Simon Property Group by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.89.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Simon Property Group stock traded up $3.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,032,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,743. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.11 and a 1-year high of $158.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.78.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.55). Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 78.50% and a net margin of 46.49%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $150.17 per share, for a total transaction of $72,982.62. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,259,500.17. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.