UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 472.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 885,541 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 730,859 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.84% of Highwoods Properties worth $29,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,562 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 22.9% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 38,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 7,130 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 285.5% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 108,073 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 80,040 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 66.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 6,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 34,885 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.3 %

Highwoods Properties stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.64. The stock had a trading volume of 930,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,175. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $33.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.24. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.54 and a 12-month high of $36.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.74). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 17.40%. The firm had revenue of $204.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $204.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 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 6.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is presently 149.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIW has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.20.

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.