tru Independence LLC Reduces Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

tru Independence LLC reduced its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Simon Property Group comprises 2.1% of tru Independence LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $6,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Simon Property Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth about $352,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 43,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,243,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 160,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,883,000 after buying an additional 11,591 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 486 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 55,001 shares in the company, valued at $8,259,500.17. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG stock opened at $164.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.53, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $155.87 and its 200 day moving average is $151.15. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a one year low of $102.11 and a one year high of $169.18.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.93 by ($1.42). Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 78.14% and a net margin of 45.90%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. Simon Property Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 104.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SPG shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $147.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.28.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

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.