KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $30.76 Million Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 178,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $30,764,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.05% of Simon Property Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $834,000. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 72.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 587,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $416,000. Institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank set a $186.00 target price on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.33.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Shares of Simon Property Group stock opened at $162.12 on Friday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.25 and a twelve month high of $190.14. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78.

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

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.60% 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.