Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 265,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 102,518 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Cousins Properties worth $8,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,677,240 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,828,000 after purchasing an additional 28,554 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Cousins Properties during the second quarter worth $578,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.1% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 131,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 27.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,293 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 6.4% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 26,243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,579 shares during the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CUZ traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $30.15. 1,185,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,007. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.06. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 1 year low of $21.58 and a 1 year high of $32.55.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.60). The firm had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 1.14%. Cousins Properties's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Cousins Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CUZ. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cousins Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Cousins Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded Cousins Properties from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Cousins Properties from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.14.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.