KBC Group NV Purchases 554,605 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 170.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 880,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 554,605 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $151,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SPG shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SPG opened at $174.42 on Monday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.15 and a 12 month high of $186.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.69 and its 200 day moving average is $168.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 announced 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 represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.85%.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group 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.