Cohen & Steers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Cohen & Steers Inc. decreased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,469,614 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,183,798 shares during the period. Highwoods Properties comprises 0.8% of Cohen & Steers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 12.70% of Highwoods Properties worth $411,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 363.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIW traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $27.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,612. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98 and a beta of 1.15. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.92 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.48. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 210.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIW. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.50.

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.