Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 556,828 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,265,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 556,828 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 3.08% of Highwoods Properties worth $99,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 124.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 363.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIW has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

NYSE HIW traded down $1.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,577. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $36.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.79%. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

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.