Vident Advisory LLC Sells 48,655 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Vident Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,655 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $2,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 537.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,264,000 after purchasing an additional 409,258 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 70,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter worth $822,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of HIW stock opened at $29.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.07 and a 52-week high of $36.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 1.20.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $200.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.31 million. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Highwoods Properties’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.83.

About Highwoods Properties

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.