Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $181.36 Million Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 87.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,118,701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,852,877 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 5.68% of Highwoods Properties worth $181,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,854,835 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,721,000 after acquiring an additional 416,791 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,328,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,627,000 after acquiring an additional 323,946 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 512.9% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,274,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,508 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,727,000. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 1,019,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,209,000 after acquiring an additional 167,510 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.16. 54,920 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,439. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.46. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $24.19 and a one year high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 21.53%. The company's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.22%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.