Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 2,908 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,908 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 59,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 23.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 290,356 shares in the last quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.9% in 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 during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.52. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.52 and a 1 year high of $36.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Research analysts forecast that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.71.

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.