Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 4,800 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HIW. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 29,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 513,697 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,709,000 after purchasing an additional 14,594 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 66,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,719 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE HIW opened at $28.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.35 and a fifty-two week 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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 4.33%. Equities analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.94%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HIW. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho boosted 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 reduced their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.71.

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.