Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 32,350 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Highwoods Properties worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aew Capital Management L P acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $31,250,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,155,000 after purchasing an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 472.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 885,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,674,000 after purchasing an additional 730,859 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 55.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 537.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,264,000 after purchasing an additional 409,258 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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 shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE:HIW opened at $29.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.07. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.52 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 1.25.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 210.53%.

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.