Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 20,019 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 44.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,019 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,067 shares during the period. Aew Capital Management L P bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $31,250,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,155,000 after acquiring an additional 908,401 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 472.5% in the third 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 worth $29,674,000 after purchasing an additional 730,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.9% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.71.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $28.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.52 and a 1-year high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

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.