Vident Advisory LLC Sells 48,655 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Vident Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 48,655 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Highwoods Properties worth $2,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,727,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 512.9% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,274,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,508 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,250,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $99,869,000 after purchasing an additional 556,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,267,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,762,000 after purchasing an additional 454,670 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 831,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,476. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.07 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $200.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 124.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on HIW shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Highwoods Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.83.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded NYSE: HIW, fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.