Simon Property Group (SPG) will cut its quarterly dividend by 38.1 percent to $1.30 per share. The commercial REIT last hiked its quarterly dividend by 2.4 percent to $2.10  per share in the third quarter of 2019. This dividend cut will end the company's 10 year record of consecutive annual dividend increases.

The next lowered dividend of $1.30 per share will be payable on July 24, 2020 to shareholders of record on July 10, 2020. The annualized dividend rate will drop from $8.40 to $5.20 per share and yields 7.6% at a stock price of $68.81.

In its press release dated June 29, 2020 the company announces that it expects to pay at least $6.00 per share in common stock dividends for 2020, in cash, subject to Board of Directors approval. A dividend cut was expected by many investors as many other REITs have already cut their dividend because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon Property's stock price has lost a whopping 53.8 percent year-to-date and touched a low of $42.25 on April 2, 2020.

By cutting the dividend Simon Property Group will save millions of dollars, with the new annual dividend payment dropping to less than $1.6 billion based on a new annualized payment of $5.20 per share.

Simon Property Group, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company owns real estate properties across North America, Europe and Asia, which consist primarily of malls, Premium Outlets and The Mills. Simon Property is the largest shareholder in Klépierre, a French REIT and one of Europe's biggest publicly traded mall operators. Simon Property Group has paid a dividend every year to shareholders since 2000. The dividend was cut in 2009 during the financial crisis and in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.