Optas LLC Grows Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Optas LLC grew its position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 936 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,281,000 after acquiring an additional 124,646 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,155,000 after purchasing an additional 908,401 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 131.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,708,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,067 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,061,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,083,000 after purchasing an additional 34,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,754,000 after buying an additional 12,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on HIW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.86.

Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HIW opened at $29.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.31 and its 200 day moving average is $31.66. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

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.