Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.22 Million Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of Highwoods Properties at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 23,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 31,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 2.2 %

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $24.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.50 and its 200-day moving average is $22.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $26.27. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.23.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.09%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HIW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.38.

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.