Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,151,503 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,978,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,151,503 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.87% of Highwoods Properties worth $60,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 363.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

NYSE HIW opened at $27.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 1.25. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.52 and a 1-year high of $36.78. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.04.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last posted its 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 return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, equities analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.17%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 210.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

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.