M&G PLC Purchases 16,636 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

M&G PLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 840,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,636 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $24,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HIW. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 752.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 6.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 17,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 3.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 35,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Huntington initiated coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $31.54 on Tuesday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.45 and a 52 week high of $35.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 1.08.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $218.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.39 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 22.56% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 118.34%.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, leases and manages office properties. Its portfolio is concentrated in business districts across the U.S. Sun Belt, including markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh and Tampa.

The company provides office space and related property management services to businesses across a range of industries. Its work includes developing and maintaining properties as well as leasing space to commercial tenants.

Highwoods is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.