Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,903,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.80% of Highwoods Properties worth $58,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HIW. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,235,000 after purchasing an additional 71,670 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,541,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,154,000 after purchasing an additional 290,356 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,328,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,627,000 after purchasing an additional 323,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,267,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,762,000 after buying an additional 454,670 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their target price 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 reduced their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW stock opened at $26.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.52 and a 12-month high of $36.78.

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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.