Hedge Funds Are Buying Simon Property Group, Inc (SPG)

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) was in 26 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. SPG investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 25 hedge funds in our database with SPG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are tons of gauges shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” know what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action regarding Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG).

What does the smart money think about Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 26 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 4% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management had the biggest position in Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG), worth close to $508.5 million, accounting for 12.7% of its total 13F portfolio. On AEW Capital Management’s heels is Ken Heebner of Capital Growth Management, with a $137.3 million position; 3.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have jumped into Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) headfirst. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, created the most outsized position in Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG). Renaissance Technologies had 49.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $20.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management and Jay Petschek and Steven Major’s Corsair Capital Management.

How have insiders been trading Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time period, Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) has experienced 2 unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG). These stocks are SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE:SLG), Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O), Macerich Co (NYSE:MAC), Kimco Realty Corp (NYSE:KIM), and General Growth Properties Inc (NYSE:GGP). This group of stocks are in the reit – retail industry and their market caps are closest to SPG’s market cap.

With the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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