Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 359,613 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW - Free Report) by 83.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 788,693 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 359,613 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.74% of Highwoods Properties worth $24,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,562 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 207,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,967,000 after purchasing an additional 8,511 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the third quarter worth about $48,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,289,806 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $244,281,000 after buying an additional 124,646 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 87.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,140,000 after buying an additional 57,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company's stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock traded up $0.67 on Monday, reaching $27.08. 62,095 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 914,474. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51 and a beta of 1.15. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.52 and a 52 week high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 210.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HIW shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Highwoods Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.