Millennium Management LLC Buys 986,863 Shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 400.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,233,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 986,863 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.78% of Cousins Properties worth $37,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Cousins Properties by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 6,146 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $793,000. GRS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,759,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 257,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 19,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Expect Equity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,872,000. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CUZ traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.00. 2,904,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,275,200. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52 week low of $22.01 and a 52 week high of $32.55. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.99, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.47.

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

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CUZ shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.20.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

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.