Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $16.66 Million Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 96,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $16,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 358.6% in the fourth quarter. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC now owns 134,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,141,000 after purchasing an additional 105,076 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 115,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,804,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 52,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,037,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,590,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $618,383,000 after purchasing an additional 624,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

SPG opened at $160.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.43. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.34 and a 52-week high of $190.14.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 115.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SPG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $168.50 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Simon Property Group from $186.00 to $159.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Simon Property Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.67.

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.