Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 25,931 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,738 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,931 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 363.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.83.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.53. 77,200 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,069. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 1.20. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $24.07 and a one year high of $36.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.51 and a 200-day moving average of $29.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Highwoods Properties's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.22%.

Highwoods Properties Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded NYSE: HIW, fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.