Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 20,019 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 44.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,019 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Highwoods Properties worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 26.1% in the fourth 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 period. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 1.7 %

HIW opened at $28.16 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $29.17 and its 200 day moving average is $31.31. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.52 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.71.

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.