Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,320,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 171,055 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 7.93% of Cousins Properties worth $392,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Cousins Properties during the first quarter worth $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 1,609.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 923 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Cousins Properties by 473.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cousins Properties Stock Performance

Shares of Cousins Properties stock traded up $0.56 on Friday, hitting $30.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,389,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,146. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $32.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $28.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.13.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. The firm 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 1.15% and a net margin of 5.97%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 387.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CUZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wolfe Research raised Cousins Properties from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. 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, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Cousins Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Cousins Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cousins Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.40.

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.