State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $18,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 328.2% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

NYSE:SPG opened at $183.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.25. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.25 and a 52 week high of $190.14.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. As a group, analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 115.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.44.

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.