Barclays PLC Sells 418,514 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Barclays PLC lowered its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 86.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 418,514 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.06% of Highwoods Properties worth $2,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $107,155,000 after buying an additional 908,401 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71,670 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,541,986 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,154,000 after buying an additional 290,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,328,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,627,000 after purchasing an additional 323,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.08. 1,249,663 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,987. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.07 and a 1-year high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.88%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties 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.