Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 375.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 131.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,067 shares in the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P purchased a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $31,250,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 908,401 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 730,859 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 454,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HIW opened at $28.97 on Thursday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.52 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.13 and its 200 day moving average is $31.25.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.90%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 210.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. StockNews.com upgraded Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

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.