Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 789,452 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services sold 789,452 shares (a 12.5% reduction), leaving it with 5,513,298 shares of Highwoods (5.02% ownership, ~$142.35M), while institutional ownership of the stock is 96.31%.
• Highwoods missed quarterly results, reporting $0.26 EPS vs. $0.84 expected and slightly weaker revenue, while setting FY2026 guidance of 3.400–3.680 EPS (sell‑side consensus ≈3.36).
• Dividend and analyst outlook: the REIT pays $0.50 quarterly (annualized $2.00, 8.9% yield) but has a 136.99% payout ratio, and analysts mostly rate the stock "Hold" with an average price target of $27.67 after recent cuts.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,513,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 789,452 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 5.02% of Highwoods Properties worth $142,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HIW. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 177,942 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 19,998 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 15.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 822,655 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,383,000 after purchasing an additional 110,489 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 10.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 292.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $29.00 price objective on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.67.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW opened at $22.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day moving average of $26.06. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.45 and a 12 month high of $32.76.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $203.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.08 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.400-3.680 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.99%.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, leases and manages office properties. The company's portfolio is primarily focused on Class A office space, with an emphasis on high-quality buildings in key urban and suburban submarkets. Highwoods seeks to generate long-term, recurring revenues through a mix of in-place lease renewals, strategic dispositions and build-to-suit developments. Its asset management platform drives operational efficiencies and tenant service initiatives across its holdings.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Highwoods Properties has expanded its presence to eight major metropolitan regions across the Southeastern United States and Texas.

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