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

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,978,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,151,503 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.87% of Highwoods Properties worth $60,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of 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 dropped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.71. 228,171 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,835. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 1.15. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $23.52 and a one year high of $36.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.92.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 4.33% and a net margin of 12.37%. Equities analysts expect that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is presently 210.53%.

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.