tru Independence LLC Decreases Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

tru Independence LLC cut its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,171 shares during the period. Simon Property Group makes up about 2.2% of tru Independence LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $7,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 617.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,191,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $539,393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746,503 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,620,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $442,892,000 after acquiring an additional 88,378 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,487,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,484,000 after acquiring an additional 25,519 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 373.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,259,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,906,000 after acquiring an additional 993,694 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,142,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $193,023,000 after purchasing an additional 73,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

SPG opened at $175.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.92. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 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 firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began 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 on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

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.