Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 333,185 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated $CUZ

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Cousins Properties by 9.6%, selling 333,185 shares in Q4 and now holds 3,151,112 shares (about 1.88%) valued at ~$81.24 million.
• Cousins authorized a $250 million share buyback (up to 6.6% of stock) and declared a $0.32 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~5.5%), though the dividend payout ratio is very high (~533%).
• The company reported Q EPS of $0.71 (in line) with revenue up 13.2%, and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a target price of $28.73 versus the current ~$23.08 share price.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,151,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 333,185 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.88% of Cousins Properties worth $81,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 9.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,781 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 10,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 13,889 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Cousins Properties by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,438,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CUZ. Capital One Financial set a $27.00 price target on Cousins Properties in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho set a $27.00 price objective on Cousins Properties in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cousins Properties in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.73.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock opened at $23.08 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $23.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 96.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $30.81.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.71. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 0.85% and a net margin of 4.08%.The business had revenue of $255.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $252.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Cousins Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.870-2.970 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cousins Properties announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 533.33%.

Cousins Properties Profile

Cousins Properties Incorporated NYSE: CUZ is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the development, acquisition and management of high-quality office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company focuses on urban infill and suburban markets across the Sun Belt, with a strong presence in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa. Its core activities encompass full-service property leasing, asset management and construction oversight, serving a diverse mix of corporate and institutional tenants.

Founded in 1958 as a privately held real estate concern, Cousins Properties completed its initial public offering in 1992.

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