Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 379,331 Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 379,331 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,600,000. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Highwoods Properties as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $99,869,000 after purchasing an additional 556,828 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 40.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,130,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $107,155,000 after buying an additional 908,401 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,133,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $65,235,000 after acquiring an additional 71,670 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,902,036 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $63,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 23.2% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 290,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 721,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,673. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.37. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56 and a beta of 1.15. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.07 and a 1-year high of $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.12%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho increased their target price on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.50.

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.