Millennium Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,802,104 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $759,936,000 after buying an additional 985,934 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,491,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $413,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350,352 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its holdings in Cousins Properties by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 7,853,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $240,625,000 after buying an additional 19,657 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cousins Properties by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,600,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $171,612,000 after acquiring an additional 585,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cousins Properties by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,072,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $94,160,000 after buying an additional 208,044 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUZ traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $26.94. 1,556,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,215. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.54. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1-year low of $22.01 and a 1-year high of $32.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CUZ. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.60.

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.