Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Invests $202,000 in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SPG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter worth about $2,561,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,380,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,258,076,000 after purchasing an additional 672,941 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 11,722.9% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 672,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,957,000 after purchasing an additional 667,034 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 160.1% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 763,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,887,000 after acquiring an additional 469,855 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 134.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 563,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,424,000 after acquiring an additional 323,168 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,259,500.17. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SPG. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $157.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Simon Property Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SPG traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $167.51. The stock had a trading volume of 538,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,596. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.53. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.11 and a 1-year high of $168.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.81. The company has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.46%.

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.