Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 35.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,070 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 40,011 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CUZ. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $296,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,466 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Cousins Properties by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Cousins Properties Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CUZ stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 786,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,270. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $32.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.03. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 1.00%. The business had revenue of $6.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 387.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cousins Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.60.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.